Natasha Darcy ‘made things worse’ with repeated lies, her lawyer tells court - Sydney Morning Herald

Repeated lies told by murder accused Natasha Darcy meant she had “made things worse for herself”, her lawyer has acknowledged in closing statements to the NSW Supreme Court on Thursday.

But Janet Manuell SC told jurors her client’s lies did not mean she was guilty of murdering her partner, Walcha grazier Mathew Dunbar, who died in his bed after ingesting a cocktail of sedatives and being asphyxiated with helium in the early hours of August 2, 2017.

Prosecutors allege Ms Darcy exploited Mr Dunbar’s “vulnerable” emotional state and killed him in such a way as to make it appear he took his own life, following months of research including hundreds of Google searches on methods for murder and suicide.

Walcha sheep grazier Mathew Dunbar with partner Natasha Beth Darcy, who is accused of murdering him.

It is the Crown case that Ms Darcy purchased ram sedatives using a false name and address at an Armidale vet, and ordered the cylinder of helium later used to kill him. She is accused of then feeding Mr Dunbar a cocktail of sedatives after pulverising tablets in a Nutribullet blender on the evening of August 1 and, as he slept, put a plastic bag over his head that she filled with helium.

Ms Darcy has pleaded not guilty to Mr Dunbar’s murder. The court heard she offered to plead guilty to aiding and abetting his suicide prior to the trial, but the offer was rejected by the Crown.

Ms Manuell told the jury on Thursday that murder is “the only charge you, the jury in this court, must consider”, and the Crown must prove beyond reasonable doubt that Mr Dunbar “did not die by his own hand”.

During the trial, the court heard that in a recorded interview following his death Ms Darcy told police she attended an appointment with Mr Dunbar on August 1 where he was given bad news about a previous leg infection. She said he was told “he could still lose it” and that “it probably wasn’t going to get much better”.

“Mat came out of there feeling pretty bad,” she told detectives.

But his orthopaedic surgeon Max Leibenson gave evidence he told Mr Dunbar and Ms Darcy he was “extremely happy with his progress” and expected further improvement.

Ms Darcy also denied to police and friends any knowledge she stood to inherit Pandora, Mr Dunbar’s $4.65 million property, but the court heard in a letter she penned to a friend from jail, she mentioned the inheritance and offered $20,000 to lie about Mr Dunbar having a plan to commit suicide.

Ms Manuell said there was “no question” that Ms Darcy had told lies to police and others following Mr Dunbar’s death, but that did not mean she was guilty. “Obviously there is evidence Ms Darcy told a lot of lies. Lots and lots of lies,” she said.

“One of the problems with lying, you might think, is once you’ve told one lie you’ve got to keep telling a whole lot more lies if you’re going to keep up with the original lie.

“Some people fess up to the original lie, some people don’t, and they just make things worse and worse,” Ms Manuell said.

“We’d say to you that’s what’s happened here. Ms Darcy has made things worse and worse for herself with the repeated lies she’s told, particularly to police.”

Ms Manuell said people lie for different reasons, including to avoid getting into trouble.

“But get into trouble for what? They might think they’ve been unjustly accused,” she said. “They might think they don’t have the skills to explain themselves properly”, or that “nobody’s going to believe them”.

Ms Manuell said there were numerous reasons why the Crown could not exclude the reasonable possibility that Mr Dunbar took his own life, including his established depression and prior suicidal ideation. Searches on his Mac computer included suicide methods and “how to stop suicidal thoughts”.

She also said the opportunity he had to put a plan into action on the afternoon before he died, and the “implausibility” of him unknowingly “drinking a drink that must have been thick with pulverised tablets” raised doubts about the Crown’s case for murder.

“If you think there is a reasonable possibility that Mr Dunbar did die by his own hand, you must acquit the accused,” she told the jury.

The trial continues.

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https://news.google.com/__i/rss/rd/articles/CBMiggFodHRwczovL3d3dy5zbWguY29tLmF1L25hdGlvbmFsL25zdy9uYXRhc2hhLWRhcmN5LW1hZGUtdGhpbmdzLXdvcnNlLXdpdGgtcmVwZWF0ZWQtbGllcy1oZXItbGF3eWVyLXRlbGxzLWNvdXJ0LTIwMjEwNjAzLXA1N3hxNy5odG1s0gGCAWh0dHBzOi8vYW1wLnNtaC5jb20uYXUvbmF0aW9uYWwvbnN3L25hdGFzaGEtZGFyY3ktbWFkZS10aGluZ3Mtd29yc2Utd2l0aC1yZXBlYXRlZC1saWVzLWhlci1sYXd5ZXItdGVsbHMtY291cnQtMjAyMTA2MDMtcDU3eHE3Lmh0bWw?oc=5

2021-06-03 03:49:21Z
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