Swansea couple Noelene and Cedric Jordan on trial over alleged murder of Campbell Town man Shane Barker

The murder trial of a Tasmanian couple alleged to have shot their ex son-in-law four times is underway. The Crown says the killing came in the wake of an atmosphere of resentment. UPDATED >

Alleged murder victim, Campbell Town man Shane Geoffrey Barker (36).

UPDATED 1.20PM: Alleged Campbell Town murder victim Shane Barker, shot four times on the evening of August 2, 2009, including by a bullet that pierced his heart, may have lived for several minutes after he was fired upon, a trial has heard.

Swansea pair Noelene June Jordan and Cedric Harper Jordan have pleaded not guilty to the murder of Mr Barker, their ex son-in-law. Their trial commenced in Launceston Supreme Court on Friday, after the jury was empaneled earlier this week.

Crown prosecutor Daryl Coates, Tasmania’s Director of Public Prosecutions, continued his opening address to the jury on Friday afternoon.

He provided a timeline of what the Crown alleged were Mr Barker’s final moments, and the movements of the defendants at the relevant time.

Mr Coates told the court that Mr Barker had seen a variety of friends in the hours leading up to his death and was in high spirits due to an upcoming hunting trip to Victoria.

At about 5pm on August 2, he went to his parents’ house at nearby New St for dinner. He stayed until about 6.30pm, when he left to go and watch a taped footy game at home, Mr Coates said.

It is the Crown case that Mr Barker was shot, initially in the back, from a distance of greater than 1m on or near his driveway as he shut the garage door upon returning home.

Three shots were fired into his back, one into his chest. A bullet pierced his stomach, kidney and heart. Mr Coates said that the post-mortem indicated blood in Mr Barker’s lungs and urine, meaning he may have been alive for several minutes after the shooting.

Mr Barker was discovered deceased in the hallway of his house the following morning, after his work colleagues at Roberts Ltd sounded the alarm he hadn’t clocked on for his shift.

An officer from Campbell Town Police Station had to break a door window to gain access to Mr Barker’s house. The door had been locked from the inside with a ‘snib’.

Mr Barker was still wearing his boots and had mud on the knees of his jeans.

A shell casing was discovered in an alleyway between the garage and Mr Barker’s porch, Mr Coates said.

Crown Prosecutor Jack Shapiro and Director of Public Prosecutions Daryl Coates arrive at the trial of Cedric Harper Jordan and Noelene June Jordan in relation to the murder of Shane Barker in 2009 at Campbell Town. Picture: Patrick Gee

Mr Coates said the jury would hear evidence the casing belonged to a Winchester .22 rifle – a model which multiple witnesses would attest was possessed by Noelene’s infirm father, Mr Jetson. The gun has never been recovered.

After Mr Barker’s death, the Jordans initially claimed they were in Swansea all evening, spending time with Noelene’s elderly dad, Noel Jetson, who lived with dementia.

Mr Coates told the court that, when confronted with telephone records indicating they were in the Campbell Town area at the suspected time of Mr Barker’s death, the Jordans then changed their story to acknowledge they did drive through Campbell Town that evening.

They said they were driving to Kings Meadows to purchase KFC.

EARLIER NOON: The murder trial of an East Coast couple alleged to have shot their ex son-in-law to death in his Northern Midlands driveway in 2009 has heard that the pair were resentful of the deceased’s access to their granddaughter.

Crown prosecutor Daryl Coates, Tasmania’s Director of Public Prosecutions, is continuing his opening address in the murder trial of Swansea pair Noelene June Jordan and Cedric Harper Jordan.

The Jordans are alleged to have shot Campbell Town man Shane Barker, 36, four times on August 2, 2009. Mr Barker was the ex-husband of their daughter Rachel Jordan.

The defendants have pleaded not guilty.

On Friday morning, Mr Coates went into more detail about the breakdown of Mr Barker and Rachel’s relationship.

He said the pair met while working together in 2000, married on February 15, 2003, and had a daughter together on January 11, 2004.

In 2007, Rachel reconnected with an old flame and by May 2007 she had moved out of the 2 East St, Campbell Town residence she shared with Mr Barker and their daughter.

Rachel subsequently alleged to the defendants that on the last night she was living with Mr Barker, he “pestered” her for sex and then did in fact have sex, despite her “crying and saying no,” Mr Coates told the court.

Mr Coates said that Rachel and the defendants were all unhappy with the property settlement following the split, as a Central Highlands property at Little Pine Lagoon, gifted to Rachel and her brother from their late grandfather, had been included in the assets, thereby lessening her entitlements.

From November 6, 2007, Rachel began raising allegations that Mr Barker had been sexually abusing their daughter on his allocated weekends.

These allegations were not substantiated by an investigation, and were not subject to criminal charges, much to the chagrin of Rachel and the defendants, Mr Coates told the court.

Things had become “toxic” between the parties, Mr Coates said.

“They (the defendants) wanted (Mr Barker) out of Rachel Jordan’s life,” he said.

EARLIER 10.30AM: The murder trial of a Tasmanian couple alleged to have shot their ex son-in-law four times in his driveway, is underway in Launceston Supreme Court.

Swansea husband-and-wife Noelene June Jordan and Cedric Harper Jordan have pleaded not guilty to murdering Campbell Town man Shane Barker in his driveway on August 2, 2009.

The pair were charged on May 11, 2020, more than a decade after Mr Barker was found deceased in his East St home.

Crown prosecutor Daryl Coates, Tasmania’s Director of Public Prosecutions, delivered his opening address on Friday.

He told the court that it was the Crown case that the defendants travelled to Mr Barker’s home at about 6pm on August 2 armed with a silenced .22 rifle.

Mr Coates said the Crown alleged Mr Barker was shot three times in the back and a further time in the chest.

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“It is the Crown case (Mr Barker) went outside to lock up, at some stage he shut the gate, and he was then shot three times to the back and once to the chest when he was lying down,” Mr Coates said.

“It is the Crown case that despite being found dead in his house, he was shot on or near his driveway. The shots were not from close range.”

Mr Coates said the Crown alleged that the murder was pre-empted by a seething atmosphere of resentment and allegation between Mr Barker, his ex-wife Rachel Jordan, with whom he had a young daughter, and the two defendants.

“To say the split was not an amicable one is an understatement,” Mr Coates said.

“It is the Crown case that both the accused hated Mr Barker and wanted him out of Rachel Jordan’s life.”

It was a “continual source of frustration” that Mr Barker had access to his daughter every second weekend, and “Noelene had heard Shane Barker might ask for full custody,” Mr Coates said.

The accused were also “unhappy at the financial settlement” following the divorce, and their daughter had alleged Mr Barker sexually assaulted her, he told the court.

Mr Coates said the Crown alleged it was “highly likely” Cedric pulled the trigger.

Cedric was an “avid shooter and had been all his life,” and owned guns, Mr Coates said.

His opening address continues.