Alleged murder victim made ‘split second’ decision to stay: witness

A “loud bang” was heard on the morning of Maddison Parrott’s alleged shooting, a witness has told the court.

Geelong woman Maddison Parrott was just moments away from leaving the scene of her alleged murder but made a split second decision to stay.

A witness to Ms Parrott’s alleged murder told the Supreme Court of Victoria that she had entered his vehicle with the intention of leaving the Geelong Showgrounds but left quickly with a promise that she would “be right back”.

The trial of Ms Parrott’s alleged killer, Nicholas Cross, 33, returned to the Supreme Court on Tuesday to hear the new witness evidence.

Cross is charged with Ms Parrott’s murder.

The witness, who cannot be named for legal reasons, said Ms Parrott appeared angry when she first got into the back seat of his car on the morning of December 3, 2018.

He said he watched as she walked to the front of the tent she was later found dead in and argued with someone through the door.

A man accused of murdering a woman whose charred body was found inside a burnt-out tent will stand trial next month. Nicholas James Cross has pleaded not guilty to one count of murder over Maddison Parrott’s death.

For “anywhere between a minute and five minutes”, the witness and another man waited in the car for Ms Parrott to return until they heard a “loud bang”.

The court heard the two men discussed the sound might have been a gunshot and decided it would be “safer” to leave.

As they did, the witness said he saw Mr Cross and two other people exit the tent from his rearview mirror.

Assuming Ms Parrott was still alive, the witness said he returned later that day to return the belongings she left in the car and to “see if she was okay”.

When he found a padlock on the tent, he left and returned after midnight to find that the tent was on fire. In a recording played to the court, the witness told emergency services that it looked like it had been “on fire for a while”.

Ms Parrott’s body was soon discovered in the scorched remains of the tent.

The court also heard that the witness was with Ms Parrott the night before her death and had waited in his car while she met with some people.

Maddison Parrott

He said Ms Parrott mentioned she owed Mr Cross money and he assumed she would pay him back by selling clothes she had swapped for Xanax the night before.

The witness also disclosed that he, Ms Parrott and another man had been using methamphetamine the night before her death. The witness and the man were also using the drug of dependence sometime after the alleged gunshot.

In a statement and a record of interview, the witness had previously claimed that Ms Parrott was only in the tent for approximately five seconds before she was allegedly killed. Defence only recently learnt his version had changed.

Mr Cross’ lawyer, Glenn Casement, said that learning about this change the night before the witness’ evidence in court was “regrettable” and “unfair”.

The trial continues.

Originally published as Alleged murder victim made ‘split second’ decision to stay: witness