Mareeba man pleads not guilty to grazier's murder
A MAREEBA man has pleaded not guilty to the murder of an 88-year-old grazier, but has admitted through his barrister that he killed the man.
Robert John Wilson, 61, is facing the first day of trial in the Cairns Supreme Court over the death of his employer David Thornton on March 12, 2010 at a Mt Carbine property.
This morning before a 12-person jury in the Cairns Supreme Court, Mr Wilson’s barrister, David Feeney, made admissions to the jury that his client killed the man “by striking (him) with an axe more than once” before shooting him in the head.
The jury was told they would have to decide whether the killing was unlawful.
The court heard Mr Wilson suffered from bi-polar disorder and was employed as a station hand at the property before becoming Mr Thornton’s carer.
The trial continues.
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