Shane Barker murder trial: ’No such hatred’ between deceased, accused, says defence
A defence counsel in the Shane Barker murder trial has told the jury that the deceased was not perfect, had secrets too, and that the alleged hate said to have provided a motive was overblown.
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The defence counsel for murder accused Noelene Jordan, charged alongside her husband Cedric with shooting their daughter’s ex-husband Shane Barker in 2009, says that the deceased had secrets too and that the alleged hatred that existed was overblown.
The trial of Mr and Mrs Jordan continued in Launceston Supreme Court on Thursday, with Noelene’s counsel, Fran McCracken, giving her closing address.
The defendants have pleaded not guilty to shooting Campbell Town man Shane Geoffrey Barker, 36, the ex-husband of their daughter Rachel Bowden (nee Jordan), four times on the evening of August 2, 2009.
Ms McCracken zeroed in on the evidence, heard from multiple witnesses, that Mr Barker was well-liked and had no other disputes.
She said it was “human nature” not to speak ill of the dead, but, “No one is perfect, no one’s life is without secrets.”
“He would have things in his life that his parents, brother and sister, and good friends might not know about,” she said.
The defendants were “the only ones prosecution have been able to introduce evidence about” – but it did not follow that no one else may have had issue with Mr Barker.
She echoed her colleague Patrick O’Halloran – Cedric’s defence counsel, who delivered his closing address on Wednesday – in saying the dispute between Mr Barker and the defendants was overblown and that most issues in the relationship had been resolved by April 2008.
Referring to the allegation Mr Barker was molesting his daughter, the defendants’ granddaughter – it was investigated by police, who declined to lay charges – Ms McCracken said Rachel, the girl’s mother, acted with probity throughout, leaning on the advice of a small group of professionals.
“The only people they [the defendants and Rachel] tell are either each other or a relevant professional,” Ms McCracken said.
“One group is acting in a way consistent with the best interests of their daughter, and the other [Mr Barker] is telling half of Campbell Town.”
If this was a motive for murder, “Why wait 15 months to do anything about it?” Ms McCracken asked – referring to the time elapsed between the investigation and Mr Barker’s death.
Ms McCracken will continue to deliver her closing address on Friday.
‘No such hatred’: Murder case weak, circumstantial, says defence
Wednesday, June 21: The defence counsel for Swansea man Cedric Jordan, accused alongside his wife Noelene of murdering their ex-son in law Shane Barker in 2009, has given his closing address, telling the jury there was “no such hatred” between the two men as claimed by the Crown.
The trial of Mr and Mrs Jordan continued in Launceston Supreme Court on Wednesday, with Cedric’s counsel, Patrick O’Halloran, giving his closing address.
The defendants have pleaded not guilty to shooting Campbell Town man Shane Geoffrey Barker, 36, the ex-husband of their daughter Rachel Bowden (nee Jordan), four times on the evening of August 2, 2009.
Mr O’Halloran began his address with a series of rhetorical questions.
“Ask yourself what would your life look like if someone went through every aspect of it with a fine-tooth comb?” he asked.
“How well could you recall an event a week after the relevant day? A year? How well would you go 10 years after?
“Would some of your life choices look suspicious because they were not the most time efficient or cost effective?”
He said that the “totality of evidence does not paint a picture of guilt beyond reasonable doubt”.
There was “no such hatred” between Cedric and Mr Barker as claimed by the Crown, he said.
Regarding Ms Bowden’s rape allegation against Mr Barker, Mr O’Halloran said, “Rachel did tell her parents, but then never mentioned it again.”
“Irrespective of whether Cedric thought it was rape, it did not loom large over their lives,” he said.
Likewise, Ms Bowden’s diary, which was read out earlier in the trial, recorded the “mundane” realities of co-parenting after a relationship breakdown, rather than a motive to kill.
Of the allegation Mr Barker was abusing their granddaughter – it was investigated and found to be unsubstantiated – Mr O’Halloran said the Jordans were private about this issue, in contrast to Mr Barker.
He said there were no fewer than 16 people Mr Barker told about this, in contrast to his client Cedric.
“You get the sense Shane was a lot more preoccupied with Cedric than vice versa,” Mr O’Halloran said.
Mr O’Halloran argued that Cedric’s threats to shoot Mr Barker were generic.
“He doesn’t dispute he said these types of comments, but said he probably said those types of things about multiple people, including [Tasmanian conservationist] Bob Brown, and he’s still very much alive,” Mr O’Halloran said.
In regards to the crime scene, Mr O’Halloran said that it was illogical that his client could have shot Mr Barker from such a low angle – the bullets in Mr Barker’s back travelled in an upwards trajectory – and then collected three of four shell casings in the gloom in light of his history of lower back troubles.
The last shell casing – the Crown claims this is the key piece of evidence linking Cedric to the alleged murder weapon – could have been kicked to its eventual resting place by one of at least four people who traversed the property before Mr Barker’s body was discovered on the morning of August 3.
This meant there was doubt as to where the assailant lay in wait for the deceased, Mr O’Halloran said.
It was also illogical that Cedric would lay in wait at Mr Barker’s 2 East St residence, knowing the property and Mr Barker well.
“He knew the empty land around the house, knew the proximity of neighbours, how observable actions would be even at night,” Mr O’Halloran said.
“He knew he would need a car to get away, how noticeable parking a car would be and how likely it would be to arouse suspicion by neighbours.
“He knew Shane stored firearms there and would have access to guns if needs be.”
Doubts about the defendants’ regular trips to KFC Kings Meadows – the pair’s alibi for where they were on the night of Mr Barker’s death – were “city-centric,” Mr O’Halloran said.
“You live in Swansea, you have to drive a lot,” he said.
Their predilection for the fried food and the frequency of their trips to Launceston to indulge in the greasy treat was “unchallenged,” Mr O’Halloran said.
‘A gun unaccounted for’ at heart of Barker murder case: Crown
Tuesday, June 20: A Crown prosecutor has told the murder trial of an East Coast couple alleged to have shot dead their daughter’s ex-husband the circumstantial evidence linking the pair to the murder weapon, which has never been discovered, is overwhelming.
The trial of Swansea husband-and-wife Cedric Harper Jordan, 71, and Noelene June Jordan, 68, continued in Launceston Supreme Court on Tuesday, with Crown prosecutor Daryl Coates SC continuing to deliver his closing statement.
The defendants have pleaded not guilty to shooting Campbell Town man Shane Geoffrey Barker, 36, the ex-husband of their daughter Rachel Bowden (nee Jordan), four times on the evening of August 2, 2009.
It is the Crown case that the defendants used an unregistered pump-action .22 rifle with silencer attachment that formerly belonged to Noelene’s infirm father Noel Jetson, who has since died.
The gun used to kill Mr Barker has never been discovered.
Mr Coates told the jury that a search of the defendants’ Swansea home on 21 September, 2009, uncovered two gun safes, one of which contained a bolt-action rifle with a thread protector [threads are used to attach silencers to the muzzle], and a loose thread protector.
“You might think it belonged to a gun unaccounted for,” he said.
Mr Coates said multiple witnesses had given evidence that Noel did in fact possess such a weapon, including Ms Bowden’s ex-partner Justin Titley, who attested that he saw Cedric wielding the rifle at family property Brambletye about six months prior to Mr Barker’s death.
“The evidence is that the deceased was shot with a rifle with silencer, and the evidence suggests that the accused had access to a rifle with silencer, and at the very least had a thread protector in his gun safe for a rifle,” Mr Coates said.
A spent cartridge found near the driveway of Mr Barker’s home “definitely” matched three discovered at another Jordan family property at Little Pine Lagoon, while Cedric “admits to being in the driveway where the cartridge was found,” Mr Coates said.
The trial earlier heard that Cedric claimed to have been in Mr Barker’s driveway about a week prior to the man’s death to collect a borrowed crowbar. Mr Coates previously said that this was a fabrication to explain any forensic evidence that may have been left behind.
The defence are expected to begin giving their closing statements on Wednesday.
‘Concocted lies’: Crown sums up case against Barker murder accused
Monday, June 19: An East Coast couple accused of shooting to death their daughter’s ex-husband in 2009 had “motive, opportunity, are ballistically linked to the scene and have told multiple lies,” a Crown prosecutor has said in his closing statement to a murder trial jury.
The trial of Swansea husband-and-wife Cedric Harper Jordan, 71, and Noelene June Jordan, 68, continued in Launceston Supreme Court on Monday, with Crown prosecutor Daryl Coates SC delivering his closing statement.
The defendants have pleaded not guilty to shooting Campbell Town man Shane Geoffrey Barker, 36, the ex-husband of their daughter Rachel Bowden (nee Jordan), four times on the evening of August 2, 2009.
Mr Coates told the court that the pair had “motive, opportunity, are ballistically linked to the scene and have told multiple lies”.
“Apart from the accused and their family, the deceased does not on the evidence appear to have had any enemies,” Mr Coates said.
“He was a well-known and popular member of the Campbell Town community.
“The evidence suggests both the accused disliked the deceased intensely, believed he’d raped their daughter, sexually assaulted their granddaughter [the allegation was not substantiated after a police investigation], and delayed financial settlement with their daughter.”
Mr Coates told the jury that a spent shell cartridge discovered in an alleyway near Mr Barker’s garage matched casings discovered at a Jordan family property at Little Pine Lagoon in the Central Highlands.
“Cedric Jordan is linked to both places where the murder weapon was fired,” Mr Coates said
He told the court that ballistics evidence suggested that the casing discovered at Mr Barker’s residence had been freshly fired, due to the absence of dust or tarnishing, and that this ruled out any submission that the casing had been there for an undetermined length of time.
Mr Coates also said that it was curious how “distressed” the defendants were when news broke Mr Barker was dead – the trial previously heard that the pair booked in to see their GP on August 5, where Cedric was prescribed temazepam (to treat insomnia).
“You might think it was pretty unusual to be so distressed about a person they didn’t like and had hardly seen in the last two years,” Mr Coates told the jury.
The pair’s “similar” conduct after the murder, including saying they had travelled to KFC Kings Meadows on the night in question, when they originally said they were in Swansea all night – they “jointly concocted lies,” Mr Coates said – showed that they acted in concert, he argued.
He said that while alternative verdicts of manslaughter were open at law to the jury – as they are in all murder trials – such a verdict was not consistent with the evidence.
“Given the deceased was shot three times in the back, once in the stomach, when the evidence suggests he was lying down, I would suggest that the person who shot Mr Barker did so with intention of killing him,” Mr Coates said.
He will continue his closing statement on Tuesday.
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