Four committed to stand trial for Gailes father Christopher Anderson’s murder, Ipswich court hears

Four men have been committed to stand trial in the Supreme Court for murder, following shocking testimony from a key witness who admitted she had lied to police and concealed evidence on the day of her partner’s death.

Aidan Pascoe, Shaun Birt and Larkin Moffatt are three of the four men accused of murder following the fatal shooting of Christopher Anderson. Markiss Graham John Moffatt Cleary (not pictured) is also one of the accused.

An Ipswich mum has delivered an emotional testimony in a southeast Queensland court, recounting the frantic moments leading up to her partner’s death.

Felicity Torrens, 26, made shocking admissions to the Ipswich Magistrates’ Court today, November 15, that she had lied to police on the day her partner, Christopher Paul Anderson, was killed.

Her testimony was delivered on the final day of a three-day committal hearing, afterwhich four men were committed to stand trial in the Supreme Court for the alleged murder.

The men include Shaun Jason Birt, 30, from Silkstone, Markiss Graham John Moffatt Cleary, 21, of Riverview, Aidan Eden Pascoe, 34, of Leichhardt, and Larkin Dwayne Moffatt, 23, of Redbank Plains.

It is alleged the four defendants shot Mr Anderson outside his Gailes home on July 10, 2021.

Mr Anderson’s family attended court in a large group to show support for their fallen loved one, as they had also done on previous occasions, with matching shirts saying “Justice for Ando” and “Forever 36”.

The family of Christopher Anderson, including his daughter and his sister Lisa Conlon, outside Ipswich Courthouse on August 9, 2023. Picture: Nicola McNamara

Ms Torrens told the court during her testimony that the four men had attended the house on the day in question over a drug deal.

She explained she had been dealing methamphetamine at the time and owed “four points from the original half ball sale”.

Ms Torrens said she and Mr Anderson had told the defendants on their doorstep that they’d give them the methamphetamine owed, along with $300 cash.

But Mr Birt had told them “no, we want it all,” Ms Torrens recounted.

She was in tears as she told the court how she had locked the front door and gone to the kitchen to retrieve a baseball bat, while Mr Anderson retrieved the drugs and cash.

“This is a lot of trauma I have tried to bury,” she said, wiping her eyes.

She said the men forced entry through the front door and confronted her in the living room.

“They’ve seen the bat and they’ve drawn out the guns,” Ms Torrens said.

She said three of the men had guns – two which were double-barrelled.

Ms Torrens said she dropped the bat in shock as “the fat one” (understood to mean Mr Pascoe) pointed a double barrel shotgun at her.

“I turned around and said if you want to be a big man, shoot me,” she said.

“I couldn’t believe that people had actually brought guns to my house. I didn’t think that they were real, to be honest,” Ms Torrens said.

“It was a ridiculous situation. You’ve come to my house where my child is – big men, big heroes – and you’re drawing guns at me, are you serious? Over a little bit of meth?”

Ms Torrens said “the fat one” then shot a hole in the wall beside her, which “just missed” her leg.

“I was in disbelief, it was crazy. People don’t do that … I was like in a state of shock,” she said.

Ms Torrens said she saw two of the men move towards the kitchen, where Mr Anderson was, before she headed towards the bedroom, where her baby was.

“Everything was almost in slow motion at this point … It was absolute fear,” she said.

Christopher Anderson.

Ms Torrens admitted she had smoked methamphetamine that day but said the feelings she experienced during the events were like “nothing” she’d felt before.

Once in the bedroom, she said she jumped out the window, asked her friend Belinda Sherlock to pass the baby to her, and ran up the street with him to safety.

She said she saw Mr Anderson’s friend Lee Page pull up outside the house around that time.

When she returned, she was told Mr Anderson had been “hit”, but she had assumed he had simply been knocked unconscious, Ms Torrens told the court.

She said she moved furniture to hide the hole in the wall when she knew an ambulance and police were coming because she “just wanted everything to be okay”.

She explained Mr Anderson had recently been released from prison.

“My main priority was keeping my family together … he had only just got back.”

Ms Torrens said she had also told Ms Sherlock to hide a white bag containing drug utensils.

She told the court she hadn’t told police at the time about her drug dealing, as she didn’t want to incriminate herself.

“I was shocked, my partner just got killed … I was a solo mother,” she explained.

“I didn’t want to leave my son. I didn’t want to go to jail.”

But now, she said: “It’s obviously worth it … so be it if I incriminate myself.

“It was important for me to tell the truth.”

Ms Torrens said she had not at this time been charged with drug trafficking.

But a police officer had told her “they had bigger fish to fry,” she said.

Forensics officers on scene on Sunday afternoon after 38-year-old Christopher Anderson was shot dead outside his home on Old Logan Rd, Gailes. Photo: Ebony Graveur

The court also heard evidence from DNA scientist Reece James Parry about the samples taken from the scene.

He explained how higher numbers of people in one “mixture” of DNA evidence made it more difficult to determine exact DNA matches.

Mr Parry also confirmed the presence of one’s DNA in a sample didn’t necessarily mean the person actually touched the object being tested, as bodily fluids like sweat or spit could have landed on it.

Ms Sherlock, Mr Page, and other witnesses had previously given testimony on earlier dates in the committal-hearing proceedings.

Following the final day of proceedings on November 15, each of the four men were formally committed to stand trial for murder in the Brisbane Supreme Court at a date yet to be determined.

Each elected not to say anything or enter any plea at this time.

They exchanged goodbyes and “I love you’s” with the family members who attended court to support them, before being remanded in custody.

Originally published as Four committed to stand trial for Gailes father Christopher Anderson’s murder, Ipswich court hears