Bobby Medcraft murder trial: Live updates from inside courtroom

Four men and one woman are finally facing trial over allegedly stabbing and killing a Burnie man with a sword. All the latest from the court room >>

The trial of five Tasmanians accused of murdering 23-year-old dad of two Bobby Medcraft is playing out in the Launceston Supreme Court.

• Tuesday: Day 2 wrap-up here
• Wednesday: Day 3 live updates here

Day 1 live updates as they happened

UPDATE, Monday 2pm: Justice Robert Pearce has sent the jury home for the day in the trial of five North West Tasmanians accused of murdering a young Burnie man by slicing his leg with a sword, causing him to bleed out.

Alleged Burnie murder victim Bobby William Medcraft, 23, pictured with his young son. Picture: Facebook

Geoffrey James Deverell, 37, Kelsey Maree Ford, 24, her brother Lucas Shane Ford, 31, Michael William Hanlon, 54, and Cody Christopher Shane Sheehan, 33, are all being tried conjointly in Launceston Supreme Court for the alleged murder of Bobby Medcraft, 23.

All five have pleaded not guilty to the charge.

Justice Pearce sent the jury, eight men and four women, with two female reserves, home for the day at 1pm.

The empaneling of the jury took about 90 minutes, which Justice Pearce noted was unusually long.

The trial proper will commence 10am Tuesday, with the Crown to give its opening address first, as per custom.

Alleged Burnie murder victim Bobby Medcraft (centre), with his grandfather and mum Leeanne. Picture: Facebook

Update 11.30am: Justice Robert Pearce has briefed the jury on the upcoming trial of five North West Tasmanian defendants accused of murdering a young Burnie man by slicing his leg with a sword, causing him to bleed out.

Geoffrey James Deverell, Kelsey Maree Ford, her brother Lucas Shane Ford, Michael William Hanlon and Cody Christopher Shane Sheehan, are all being tried conjointly in Launceston Supreme Court for the alleged murder of Bobby Medcraft, 23.

All five have pleaded not guilty to the charge.

“The Crown case is that he died after having been struck to the back of his leg with a very sharp object, which caused blood loss and death,” Justice Pearce told the court.

“It’s the state’s case that each of the co-accused were present when Mr Medcraft died and are all criminally responsible for his death.”

Justice Pearce said there would be approximately 19 civilian witnesses during the course of the trial.

Four of them would be “principal” witnesses, as they “spent time” with Mr Medcraft in the hours prior to his death, including his girlfriend, Kalinda Morrisson.

The other 15 witnesses, including neighbours and those “a little more on the periphery”, are “important nevertheless”.

One witness due to take the stand, Kieren Jamie Wesley Whitehouse, 23, died in a car accident at Ridgley on April 15 last year.

The trial is being held at Launceston Supreme Court due to size constraints at Burnie’s courthouse, in light of the five co-accused. Picture: File

Earlier 10am: The murder trial of five people accused of stabbing a 23-year-old Burnie man to death will finally get under way in Launceston today, more than 30 months after they were first arrested and charged.

Bobby Medcraft died at North West Regional Hospital on March 29, 2020 after he was allegedly attacked at a Ritchie Ave, Burnie residence.

Geoffrey James Deverell, Kelsey Maree Ford, her brother Lucas Shane Ford, Michael William Hanlon and Cody Christopher Shane Sheehan, are all being tried conjointly for Mr Medcraft’s alleged murder.

All five have pleaded not guilty to the charge.

They are alleged on the indictment to have murdered Mr Medcraft by slicing his leg open with a sword.

The trial is being held at Launceston Supreme Court as Burnie’s courthouse does not have the capacity to try five defendants simultaneously.

The trial is expected to take approximately six weeks, Justice Robert Pearce told the court.

The Mercury will be updating this story as relevant information comes to hand.

*Editor’s note: An earlier version of this story said the trial was expected to take approximately eight weeks. It also misspelt Ms Morrisson’s surname.