Woman says she tipped off an accused murderer to the victim’s whereabouts because the alleged murder victim laughed at her

A woman has told a murder trial she told the accused killer the victim’s whereabouts because she was angry about a comment the victim had made to her.

Bradley Breward, 22, is believed to have been killed on New Year’s Day 2017. Picture: SUPPLIED

UPDATED: THE woman who tipped off accused killer Mark Rodney Jones to the whereabouts of Bradley Breward on the day he was allegedly murdered has told a court she didn’t want the 22-year-old to get hurt.

Tina Maree Robertson gave evidence in Mr Jones’s trial in the Supreme Court in Launceston on Wednesday, saying she was angry about a comment Mr Breward made on the morning of New Year’s Day 2017, so she called Mr Jones and told him Mr Breward was at her boyfriend’s Newnham unit.

The Crown alleges Mr Jones, 43, of West Launceston, tortured Mr Breward at the unit, before dumping his body in Lake Eugenana, near Devonport.

Ms Robertson told the court she had met Mr Breward in about October 2016 and shortly after began a relationship with Mr Breward’s friend Cody Lee, who lived at the Newnham unit where Mr Breward is alleged to have been killed.

But Ms Robertson’s friendship with Mr Breward soured after he failed to repay about $3000 he owed her, most of which she had given him to buy the drug ice.

Ms Robertson came into contact with Mr Jones during December 2016, when the accused murderer was on the hunt for Mr Breward, believing he had stolen his uninsured ute from a roadside at Prospect, where it had been advertised for sale.

Mr Jones had approached Mr Lee for information about Mr Breward’s whereabouts and one day Ms Robertson answered the phone she and her partner shared, which led to Mr Jones offering her money to lead him to Mr Breward.

She told the court she took Mr Jones and two other men to a Mayfield property where she believed Mr Breward was staying but refused to help entice Mr Breward to come out.

She next met one of Mr Jones’s friends, Ricky Izard, at a party on New Year’s Eve, where Mr Izard showed her a flyer offering a $5000 reward for finding Mr Jones’s ute.

The following morning, Ms Robertson went to Mr Lee’s unit but left within minutes because her partner was “being mean” to her.

On her way out of the unit, Mr Breward, who had spent the night there, laughed at her and asked if she had slept with another man.

“I probably wouldn’t even have rung Mark Jones if Brad didn’t laugh at me like that,” Ms Robertson told the court.

She said Mr Lee and Mr Jones would not tell her what happened to Mr Breward later that day, or in the days that followed, although she was eventually paid $1000 by Mr Jones, who told her to delete his number and all messages between them from her phone.

“He told me he was only going to talk to him and I told him not to do anything to him or Cody, and he did — I hate him so much,” Ms Robertson said.

EARLIER: The man accused of murdering Launceston man Bradley Wade Breward told police almost three weeks after the 22-year-old was last seen that he didn’t kill him.

A Supreme Court jury has today been shown footage of Mark Rodney Jones, 43, being interviewed by police at his West Launceston home on January 20, 2017, as they investigated Mr Breward’s disappearance.

In the interview, Mr Jones admitted he “went everywhere looking for (Mr Breward)” but claimed he hadn’t found him.

The Crown alleges Mr Jones tortured Mr Breward to death at a Newnham unit on New Year’s Day 2017, before dumping the body in Lake Eugenana.

Mr Jones told police he suspected Mr Breward had stolen his uninsured Nissan Patrol from a roadside where it had been advertised for sale.

Mr Jones, who has pleaded not guilty, said he spoke to a former neighbour of Mr Breward’s mother and eventually received messages from a close relative of Mr Breward, but denied that he made any death threats.

“I just said I won’t stop looking until I find him,” Mr Jones said to police.

“I think I was reasonably diplomatic about it because I thought I was talking to his mum or his sister so I didn’t want to be too rude.”

The trial, before Justice Robert Pearce, continues.