Gordon Wood jury discharged after phone call

GORDON Wood's murder trial was sensationally aborted after a judge found a number of jurors had probably "misconducted themselves" and were planning a secret night-time visit to the site of the alleged killing.

GORDON Wood's murder trial was sensationally aborted after a judge found a number of jurors had probably "misconducted themselves" and were planning a secret night-time visit to the site of the alleged killing.

There was evidence that one juror was bullying the others and had already made up her mind that Mr Wood, 45, was guilty, Justice Graham Barr said in the NSW Supreme Court when discharging the jury.

Mr Wood has been charged with murdering his girlfriend Caroline Byrne on or about 7 June 1995 by allegedly throwing her off a cliff at Sydney's Watsons Bay. He has pleaded not guilty.

And, although he could not be sure which juror did it, Justice Barr found that one member of the jury had called 2GB radio broadcaster Jason Morrison seeking advice about the secret visit.

In the circumstances, it would not be possible for Mr Wood to receive a fair trial, the judge said.

Mr Wood said outside the court that he continued to maintain his innocence and he hoped that the next jury abides by the judge's directions.

“This has been very stressful for me as you can imagine, because these allegations have been around now for many, many years and I want my case finalised,” Mr Wood said. “

The events of the last few days had been suppressed until Justice Barr lifted non-publication orders made Monday and Tuesday.

The trial of Mr Wood, who used to work for stockbroker Rene Rivkin, began last Monday with crown prosecutor Mark Tedeschi QC making his opening address to the jury.

Mr Tedeschi said Mr Wood had two motives for killing Byrne. He alleged that Mr Wood was concerned that Byrne and her family knew too much about Rivkin's business dealings, information “that amounted to a disclosure of serious illegal insider trading activity”.

Mr Tedeschi said that Byrne apparently had knowledge of a suspicious 1993 fire at the Offset Alpine Printing company, which triggered a massive insurance payout. Rivkin was a shareholder in the company.

Byrne also knew of Rivkin's homosexual activities, the court heard last week. There is no evidence linking Rivkin to Byrne's death, the court heard.

Mr Wood also could not bear to lose Byrne, who was considering leaving him, Mr Tedeschi told the jury.

On Wednesday last week the jury was taken on a site visit to Watsons Bay and shown the rock ledge from where it is alleged Mr Wood threw Byrne's body, as well as the spot where her body was found.

Although it was a clear sunny day on the day of the site visit, the jury had been told that the night of Byrne's death was dark, with low visibility.

“It was the blackest night ... there was no moon, it was just mist and darkness,” Tony Byrne told the jury last week during his evidence.

My Byrne finished his evidence on Thursday and the case was set to recommence on Monday this week.

But the jury was called last Thursday night after the court received information that a person claiming to be a juror had called 2GB radio broadcaster Jason Morrison. The caller said the jury was planning a private night-time visit to Watsons Bay and there was a female juror, who had already made up her mind that Mr Wood was guilty and who was bullying them.

Court officer Brian Murray called each juror to tell them that on no account should they make any visit to Watsons Bay that night and that they would be breaching their court duties if they did so.

On Monday Justice Barr asked Mr Morrison to give evidence to the court. The jury was not present at the time.

Mr Morrison said a woman had phoned him at 9.20am on Thursday to ask his “advice” after she had learned of a plan by other jurors to visit to The Gap that night for a “private viewing”.

Mr Morrison said that he had told the woman that she should raise her concerns with the judge, but that she persisted with the conversation.

“Before I could end the call she said to me, ‘well, I think you have got to know that there’s a plan by (some) people on the jury to go out to check out the crime scene at night’,” Mr Morrison said.

The woman allegedly told Mr Morrison that the juror who was organising the trip was a bully, and had told the other jury members that “it’s pretty clear they (the defence) doesn’t want us to see it (the alleged crime scene) at night.

“There’s a woman on the jury who’s quite a bully and she’s telling us all to do it. This woman has already decided that he’s guilty and that we should go out (to The Gap) to see why,” the caller allegedly told Mr Morrison.

Justice Graham Barr then recalled the jury, told them of the alleged phone call, and asked each juror to separately take the witness stand.

He asked them three questions: did they make a phone call to a journalist on Thursday morning; were they were aware of another juror making a phone call to a journalist; and were they aware of a plan by another juror to return to The Gap for a private viewing.

Each of the 12 jurors replied “no” to every question.

After the jurors were separately questioned, Crown prosecutor Mark Tedeschi QC told Justice Barr that it was clear the call was a hoax, and asked that the trial was continue.

The phone call must have come from a “malevolent member of the public” who wanted to interfere with the proper processes of the court, Mr Tedeschi said.

But defence lawyer Winston Terracini SC said there were still doubts as to whether it was a hoax call, because a court officer had alleged that last Thursday, a juror had told him “that something was happening” in relation to the after hours, unofficial visit to The Gap.

On Tuesday court officer Mr Murray gave evidence and said that one female juror had told him she heard a conversation in the jury room about visiting Watsons Bay.

“I heard some of them mentioning that in the jury room,” Mr Murray recalled the juror saying.

That juror was then recalled into court and said that she had told Mr Murray “they kind of joked about that (visiting Watsons bay), but not seriously”. She also said the joking reference was not related to a private visit.

Mr Murray was then recalled to the witness box where he said he had not remembered the juror saying anything about the visit being a joke.

In his judgment today Justice Barr said he was impressed by the evidence of Mr Murray.

“Mr Murray is a senior officer of his department, “Justice Barr said. “He was called out in an emergency. He had to unlock the courthouse at Darlinghurst and gain access to the safe in order to telephone each juror. He knew that the conversations he was going to have with those jurors were important and more than casual. He is likely in those circumstances, I think, to have an accurate recollection of anything significant said to him by a juror.”

In contrast, Justice Barr said the juror was “not being frank” and rejected her evidence that she told Mr Murray any intended visit to Watsons Bay was a joke.

“It makes no sense to me that the juror should have thought that her fellow jurors were having a joke but not about a private visit. If it were not a private visit they were talking about, where would the joke lie?” Justice Barr said.

“I conclude from this evidence that there was talk in the jury room about a private visit to Watsons Bay. I do not believe that such discussions were had only as a joke.”

Justice Barr said he believed one or more jurors “were less than frank” when he questioned them but he could not be sure how many.

“This has the unfortunate result that I am unable publicly to vindicate those jurors who have throughout acted properly. They know who they are. The Court thanks them for their service,” Justice Barr said this morning.

Mr Wood will now face a retrial on 25 August. An additional three jurors will be empanelled as the crown believes it will take longer than three months.