Shane Barker murder trial: Jury finds Cedric and Noelene Jordan guilty

The jury has delivered a verdict in the Shane Barker murder trial: guilty. Mr Barker’s family burst into tears upon hearing the news. Killers Cedric and Noelene Jordan have learnt their fate.

Alleged Campbell Town murder victim Shane Barker, 36. Picture: File

After hearing 10 weeks of evidence, the jury has found an East Coast couple accused of shooting to death their daughter’s ex-husband in 2009 guilty of murder.

The trial of Swansea pair Cedric Harper Jordan, 71, and Noelene June Jordan, 68, in Launceston Supreme Court concluded on Wednesday morning with the guilty verdicts.

The defendants had 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 Barker’s family burst into tears upon hearing the verdict.

Campbell Town man Shane Geoffrey Barker (36). Picture: File

Justice Robert Pearce sentenced the defendants to 22 years’ imprisonment each, with a non-parole period of 12 years.

Crown prosecutor Daryl Coates described the killing as a “premeditated execution”.

“It showed callous disregard for the fact that their granddaughter would lose her father,” Mr Coates said.

“This murder was a result of desire for Mr Barker not to be able to see his daughter.”

He asked Justice Pearce to sentence on the basis Cedric pulled the trigger, a submission the judge accepted.

Patrick O’Halloran, defence counsel for Cedric, noted that his client had a history of health conditions, including recent operations on his eyes and a back operation in 2017. He was on a “range” of prescription medications.

Fran McCracken, defence counsel for Noelene, said her client had a congenital hip condition that has meant she has had four hip replacements throughout her life and required painkillers.

Her access to this medication would be limited in prison, making it more onerous for her.

The Jordans spent approximately six months in pre-sentence custody after they were charged in May 2020.

Justice Pearce, in his sentencing remarks, said that Mr Barker’s death had a “profound and devastating effect” on his friends and family.

Of one of the peripheral allegations in the case, that Mr Barker was sexually abusing his daughter, the defendants’ granddaughter, thus providing additional motive to kill, Justice Pearce said he found it “improbable,” although its truth or otherwise had little bearing on the murder itself.

Speaking outside of court, Mr Barker’s brother Paul, the driving force behind keeping the case in the public eye throughout 14 years of wilderness, said that “the good side won for a change”.

“I don’t have to answer any more questions [about who killed his brother,” Paul said.

“We don’t get Shane back, but we get the next best thing.”

Swansea murder accused Cedric Harper Jordan, 71. Picture: Alex Treacy

The Crown case was that the defendants were motivated to kill by a hatred of Mr Barker stemming from allegations he raped their daughter and sexually abused their granddaughter, and that he was angling for full custody of the young girl.

The Crown alleged that the defendants used an unregistered pump-action .22 rifle that formerly belonged to Noelene’s father, Noel Jetson. The weapon used to kill Mr Barker has never been found.

The court previously heard evidence that Mr Barker was a well-liked member of the Campbell Town community and that no-one called to take the stand could think of anyone aside from the Jordans who had a motive to kill him.

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The Crown said that the defendants lied about their whereabouts on the night of Mr Barker’s death, their feelings towards the deceased, and their knowledge of Mr Jetson’s unregistered pump-action .22 rifle.

The defendants had always denied knowledge of a rifle of that description.

Death of Shane Geoffrey Barker (36), shot a number of times at his home at 2 East Street in Campbell Town, Tasmania Police forensic officers at the crime scene

It alleged that references to the rifle in question were captured by covert listening devices and telephone intercepts between members of the Jordan family throughout 2016–17.

In defence of the pair, counsel Mr O’Halloran and Ms McCracken had told the court that the lack of evidence about any other feuds Mr Barker may have had did not mean that they didn’t exist – simply that the Crown had not been able to find anyone else with a possible motive.

Swansea murder accused Noelene June Jordan, 68. Picture: Alex Treacy

They said that the defendants’ lie about their whereabouts on the night in question – they said they were in Swansea, but subsequently claimed they had driven to KFC Kings Meadows – showed anxiety, not a guilty mindset.

Ms McCracken noted that the couple’s fears – that they would be fingered for the murder were it known that they had driven in the area at the time of Mr Barker’s death – was subsequently borne out, illustrating the logic of their decision to lie to avoid “hassle”.