Alleged killer Darren Ashley heard voices in his head before partner’s death

DARREN Ashley was “angry” about his estranged wife Kirsty leaving him, was hearing voices in his head and told his mate he “wanted to get rid of her”, the Supreme Court has heard

A note that alleged murderer Darren Ashley handed to Alice Springs Police station. Picture: NT Police/NT Supreme Court

DARREN Ashley was “angry” about his estranged wife Kirsty leaving him, was hearing voices in his head and told his mate he “wanted to get rid of her”, the Supreme Court has heard.

In evidence yesterday, Justin Rennie said the accused had started coming to his Spicer Cres home “just about every night” before Ms Ashley was found dead on the loungeroom floor of her brother’s nearby Lovegrove Dr house.

“He just kept hearing voices in his head and wanted to get rid of her,” he said.

When asked what the voices said, Mr Rennie said: “to kill her”, but said he didn’t think the accused was serious.

“I’ve heard it before from other people, if you went to police every time someone said they were going to kill somebody you’d look like an idiot,” he said.

Ashley has pleaded not guilty to the stabbing murder of Ms Ashley in May 2012.

Prosecutors allege Ashley dumped a number of knives in a storm drain between the Lovegrove Dr house and Spicer Cres.

Mr Rennie said he sent the accused a text message advising him to do a “hospital job” on the man who Ashley thought his estranged wife had been having an affair with.

He said his advice was “sort of like any bloke giving a mate some advice if someone’s sleeping with his partner”.

He said he later “told (Ashley) to leave it, there’s plenty more fish in the sea, meaning there’s plenty more women out there”. Mr Rennie said on the day Ms Ashley was killed, he found the accused’s motorbike parked at his Spicer Cres home, two streets away from Lovegrove Dr.

Mr Rennie’s boss at the scrapyard, Stuart Pritchard, gave evidence that Mr Rennie had seen the motorcycle parked in his front yard.

“He had no idea why it was there, he was aware that there was some domestic issues,” Mr Pritchard said. The jury were also shown a note Ashley gave officers when he went into the Alice Springs Police station.

“If anything happens to me then in my view I was murdered over information leading back to the Banditos (sic) bikies — who work for Kym Christensen,” the note said.

The trial, before Justice Dean Mildren, continues.