- In short: A police interview played to a Supreme Court jury in Launceston reveals that a woman accused of murdering her son-in-law Shane Barker first said she was nowhere near Campbell Town on the night he was killed, but then changed her story.
- What's next? The trial, which has been underway since late April, will continue into next week.
A Tasmanian woman co-accused of murdering her former son-in-law lied to police and hatched a plan with her husband to cover their tracks, a Supreme Court jury has heard.
Swansea couple Noelene and Cedric Jordan are on trial accused of the murder of 36-year-old Shane Barker.
They have both pleaded not guilty.
It's the Crown's case that Mr Barker was shot three times in the back and once in the chest outside his Campbell Town house on August 2, 2009.
The jury has been played a two-hour police interview between Noelene Jordan and two detectives, conducted almost two months after he was killed.
Mobile phone tower pings reveal location
She initially told police in the interview that she was at home with her husband Cedric but changed her story when police said they had evidence her phone had "pinged" at towers in Launceston.
"So, you weren't at home were you?" she was asked in the interview.
"At 4:45pm your phone was at Swansea, then at 7.12pm it bounced off a tower in Oakmont near Perth, Tasmania, and then at 7.33pm it was in Youngtown.
"This indicates that between 4.45pm and 7.33pm your phone had travelled from Swansea to Launceston."
Mrs Jordan replied and said it can't have.
"Well, who had your phone then? You had it with you, yes?"
"Yes" she replied.
Accused 'smack bang' in Campbell Town, court hears
In the police interview, an investigating officer then said: "It's time to start telling the truth, Noelene, the secrets are up."
"OK, yes I know," she replied.
"Shane was killed at around 7pm, which puts you smack bang in the middle of Campbell Town at that time," the officer said.
Mrs Jordan then tells detectives the couple did in fact drive to Launceston to go to KFC for dinner but did not stop in Campbell Town.
"We were too scared to tell you," she said.
"We didn't stop in Campbell Town, we drove straight through, we went to get KFC."
"I admit, I lied," she said in the interview.
The jury also heard Noelene and Cedric Jordan hatched the plan to lie about where they were on the night Shane was murdered after they got home from attending his funeral.
"We said 'oh well, we'll just say we were at home'," she said.
"Can you see how this all looks?" the police officer asked.
"Yeah, I can," she replied.
"It weighs on you quite heavily, hey?" the officer continued.
"Yeah, it does, if you're going to lie about something you've got to be pretty good at it hey?" she said.
She was then asked in the interview: "Will Cedric continue telling these lies?"
"Probably," was her reply.
Former partner pregnant to ex-boyfriend
Mrs Jordan was also asked about her relationship with Shane Barker.
She said she got along "well" at the time Mr Barker was married to her daughter Rachel, between 2003 and 2007, but admitted she knew their relationship had become rocky since having their daughter.
"Shane wasn't perfect, but neither was Rachel," Mrs Jordan said.
"She felt Shane didn't want to be married to her with a child anymore."
Mrs Jordan said in the police interview that Mr Barker was probably scared, and said "having a kid is pretty daunting."
Her daughter's marriage broke down in 2007 and custody of the child was shared.
The jury also heard in the interview that a month after the split, Rachel started a relationship with her ex-boyfriend.
She was pregnant with their first child together when Mr Barker was murdered.
When asked how Mr Barker felt about this, Mrs Jordan replied: "He wasn't going to be impressed."
Mrs Jordan was also asked if she knew Rachel and her ex-boyfriend had started seeing each other while she was married to Mr Barker, Mrs Jordan said she "would be very surprised."
The trial continues.
