David Mark Thomas pleads not guilty to accessory charge over shooting death of John Simpson at Laguna

A man has denied he helped a killer who brutally shot his housemate in the head before his body was callously discarded in a shallow grave on a remote Hunter Valley property.

Police on the property on Great North Rd, Laguna on July 18, 2023. Authorities were conducting a search as part of their investigation into the murder of John Simpson. Picture: Dan Proudman.

A man has denied he helped a killer who brutally shot his housemate in the head before his body was callously discarded in a shallow grave on a remote Hunter Valley property.

In Newcastle Local Court on Wednesday, David Mark Thomas pleaded not guilty to accessory after the fact of murder after farm worker John Simpson, 42, was shot dead by Joshua David Wright on April 13, 2023 at their Laguna home.

Represented by solicitor Adrian Kiely, the 50-year-old from Kurri Kurri appeared via video link and told the court, “I miss my kids so much”.

Thomas will be committed to trial in the District Court, set to be arraigned next month.

Court documents state on the 24th and 25th of April, 2023, Thomas allegedly assisted Wright knowing he had murdered Simpson.

In court last week, 35-year-old Wright pleaded guilty to murder and possession of a stolen firearm, relating to a .223 calibre rifle stolen from Rothbury Winery in 2018.

John Simpson, who went missing on April 13, 2023 before his body was located at Laguna, near Cessnock, on May 16. Picture: NSW Police.

Three charges of possess unauthorised firearm and possession of ammunition will be taken into account on sentencing and he has been committed for sentence in the Sydney Supreme Court on April 4.

Strike Force Blakely, headed up by the NSW Homicide Squad, was established a few weeks after Mr Simpson was reported missing at Laguna in April 2023.

Police made a public plea about the 42-year-old’s last known sighting on a section of Great North Rd at Laguna when he was seen on the side of the road after his vehicle had broken down and was doing some makeshift repairs.

Homicide Squad detectives have extradited Joshua Wright from Victoria. He has pleaded guilty of the murder of John Simpson. Picture: NSW Police

There was a major search for Mr Simpson in and around the area before the grim discovery of his body in a shallow bush grave on the rental property he shared with Wright, on May 16.

It was around three months later, Wright was extradited by homicide detectives from Victoria after being arrested by the state’s fugitive squad and charged with murder.

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Originally published as David Mark Thomas pleads not guilty to accessory charge over shooting death of John Simpson at Laguna