But that’s just the tip of the iceberg.

This year will be huge for the Tasmanian justice system – a burden it must bear following a year of delays and backlogs that became substantially worse under COVID-19 restrictions.

In addition to the nine alleged murders are numerous other high-profile cases that have been capturing the community’s attention – including the Huonville death of Jari Wise and the alleged attempted abduction of a five-year-old girl in the state’s North-West.

This year will also finally see the second appeal for convicted killer Sue Neill-Fraser play out, potentially bringing an end to one of the country’s most enduring murder cases.

Death of Michael Hawkes

Following the discovery of a dead 70-year-old man in the northern township of Reedys Marsh in January, a Waverley man allegedly went on the run for almost 24 hours.

A police drone and rescue helicopter were used in the manhunt, which spanned a labyrinth of thick bush, farms and multiple gravel roads.

The deceased man, Michael Hawkes, was a former parliamentary driver.

Robert Gerard, 47, on January 27 pleaded not guilty in the Launceston Magistrates Court to one count of murder and another of wounding.

The case is due back in the Launceston Supreme Court on April 26.

Death of Bradley Wolf

In November last year, a South Hobart man was killed in a cul-de-sac off Huon Road.

Police claimed the victim, Bradley Paul Wolf, had been struck over the head with a metal object.

Shaun James Scott, 40, has pleaded not guilty to murder.

At the time, Tasmania Police alleged Mr Wolf had been staying for several days with Mr Scott, whom he had known for some time.

Mr Scott will appear in the Hobart Supreme Court on Monday.

Death of Veronica Corstorphine

The “phenomenally clever” 71-year-old Veronica Corstorphine had been in Tasmania for only a few years when she was discovered deceased in bed during October 2019.

The South Launceston woman was active within the Labor Party and described as “committed, passionate and genuinely kind”.

Ms Corstophine’s cause of death remains unknown.

Her daughter, Natalie Maher, has been charged with the murder.

Ms Maher is expected to appear in the Launceston Supreme Court on February 1.

Death of Jingai Zhang

German national Tobias Pick has pleaded not guilty to murdering a Launceston woman on Boxing Day last year.

Jingai Zhang, 49, was found dead in the bedroom of her Wellington Street home about 8.30pm.

Ms Zhang was an Australian permanent resident of Chinese origins.

According to Tasmania Police, Mr Pick has been in Australia on a working visa for several months.

He is due to appear in the Launceston Supreme Court on April 26.

Alleged illegal burial of a woman

A 69-year-old man from the township of Cranbrook, near the coastal community of Swansea, has been charged with failing to report his partner’s death and mishandling human remains.

It came after police found a grave containing a female body last November – about three months after her death.

The man will appear in the Hobart Magistrates Court on March 10.

Death of Jake Anderson-Brettner

Jack Harrison Sadler has pleaded not guilty to the murder of a 24-year-old man at a Riverside home in 2018.

Part of Anderson-Brettner’s body was found off the Tasman Highway near Myrtle Park, north of Launceston, on August 19 that year – four days after his alleged murder.

Mr Sadler is expected to face the Launceston Supreme Court on Monday.

Domestic violence charges for Melissa Oates

Huon Valley woman Melissa Oates faced court multiple times during 2020 – with emotional scenes ensuing on nearly every occasion.

Jari Wise, who was Ms Oates’ partner, died on February 29 last year after he was struck by a car at Huonville.

Ms Oates, 34, has pleaded not guilty to 116 counts of breaching a police family violence order.

She has not yet entered pleas to two counts of common assault and one count of injuring property.

Ms Oates, who has not been charged with causing Mr Wise’s death, will return to court on March 4.

Death of Ashton Frederick Jones

In October 2020, a 34-year-old man was found dead at a Mornington home, with a stab wound to the neck.

Ashton Frederick Jones was later remembered by friends as a devoted dad who was “loved by all”.

Caleb Adams, 31, has pleaded not guilty to Mr Jones’ murder.

He will stand trial in the Supreme Court of Tasmania during 2021, with his next court appearance scheduled for February 1.

Cold case investigation of Shane Geoffrey Barker’s death

It has been 11 years since Campbell Town man Shane Geoffrey Barker was found dead in his front yard with four shotgun wounds.

Charges have now been laid in what has been one of Tasmania’s longest-running murder investigations.

Cedric Harper Jordan, 68, and his wife Noelene June Jordan, 66, will face trial in 2021 after pleading not guilty to the 2009 shooting.

The Jordans, who live at Swansea, are the parents of Mr Barker’s former wife.

The pair will return to court on March 29.

Death of Reid Ludwig

A 16-year-old Blackmans Bay boy has denied murdering a Taroona dad by stabbing him in front of his family during November 2019.

Reid Ludwig, 41, died at the Royal Hobart Hospital after the alleged murder outside the Coles Express service station.

The boy, who cannot be named for legal reasons, was arrested at the scene.

The case progressed slowly through the Supreme Court of Tasmania during 2020, with the matter expected to proceed to trial in 2021.

The boy will return to court on February 15.

Death of Bobby Medcraft

Five people have now been charged with the alleged group bashing of a 23-year-old Burnie father that led to his death.

Bobby Medcraft died in the North West Regional Hospital on March 29 last year after he was allegedly set upon by the group – aged between their 20s and 50s – at a property in the suburb of Downlands.

Geoffrey James Deverell, Lucas Shane Ford, Kelsey Maree Ford, Michael William Hanlon, and Cody Christopher Shane Sheehan have all pleaded not guilty to murder.

They are due to front the Launceston Supreme Court on Monday.

The Great Forest Case

The Bob Brown Foundation has waged an historic court battle that it hopes will end native forest logging in Tasmania for good.

Dubbing the Federal Court stoush “the Great Forest Case”, the Bob Brown Foundation has argued against the legitimacy of Tasmania’s Regional Forest Agreement.

Buoyed by victory in a similar Victorian case, the foundation has waged its war as news broke that fewer than 300 swift parrots could remain in the wild.

A decision is expected in February.

Bob Brown and two other protesters, who were arrested late last year while trying to block logging of swift parrot habitats, will appear in the Hobart Magistrates Court on criminal charges in March.

Kathmandu founder Jan Cameron’s ASIC case

Multi-millionaire businesswoman Jan Cameron will fight allegations she misled the corporate watchdog over her interest in organic baby food giant Bellamy’s during a lengthy 2021 court stoush.

The 67-year-old has denied she failed to disclose 14 million shares in the Tasmanian-grown company through herself and an associated entity, The Black Prince Foundation.

Ms Cameron, who founded the Kathmandu outdoor equipment company, has previously pleaded not guilty to one count of failing to give information about substantial holdings and one count of making a false or misleading statement after an investigation by the Australian Securities and Investments Commission.

The former Bellamy’s director and one of Tasmania’s wealthiest residents will return to court on March 4.

Criminal case of former Tasmanian priest

Former Salesian order priest David Edwin Rapson, who is in his late 60s, taught at Dominic College during the 1980s and has been charged with six counts of indecent assault.

His case is due to return to the Hobart Supreme Court on Monday.

Unfair dismissal case of Jacqui Lambie’s staffers

A Federal Court stoush between two of the Senator’s former chief staffers – Rob and Fern Messenger – will return in February.

The high-profile – and at times bizarre – case played out over a fortnight in October last year, with the Messengers claiming they were dismissed unfairly when they were sacked in 2017 for “serious misconduct”.

Mr Messenger says his termination came after he complained about Ms Lambie’s “excessive alcohol consumption and behaviours”.

But Ms Lambie’s other staff members have begged to differ, with electorate officer Tammy Tyrrell claiming the Messengers subjected other employees to bullying, ill-treatment and mismanagement.

Alleged abduction of five-year-old girl

Rosebery man Cecil Maurice Mabb has pleaded guilty to the attempted abduction of a child from a popular camping ground.

Police have charged the 41-year-old with attempted abduction of a young person under 17 years and one count of assault.

The five-year-old child was allegedly taken from campgrounds at Montagu in Tasmania’s far North-West on January 24.

He will be sentenced in the Burnie Supreme Court on March 9.

Sue Neill-Fraser’s second murder appeal

Arguably the most famous murder case to ever hit Tasmania, Sue Neill-Fraser will return to court on March 1 to make a second bid to clear her name.

The grandmother, who will soon turn 67, has always professed her innocence since the disappearance of her partner Bob Chappell on Australia Day 2009.

She has now spent more than 11 years incarcerated at the Mary Hutchinson’s Women Prison.

If her appeal bid fails, she will be eligible to apply for parole in August 2022.

Ongoing cases backlogged in Tasmania’s criminal justice system

COVID-19 restrictions caused backlogs in the state’s court system to worsen during 2020, with many high-profile cases due to unfold last year still outstanding.

These include the Dunalley bushfire group litigation case, the Mt Lyell mine inquest into the deaths of Michael Welsh, Alistair Lucas and Craig Leeson, and the Spirit of Tasmania case in which 12 polo ponies were found dead after crossing Bass Strait.

Read more here.