WOMAN SAW VICTIM SHOT
Murder trial star witness gave ‘false’ statement
“MY STATEMENT, the false one?”
That is the stunning admission Rachel Binns made to the Supreme Court during the murder trial of Kevin Patrick Hanley yesterday. Ms Binns told the court she saw Hanley shoot her boyfriend Matthew Morcus on her doorstep in 2016, however, she also claimed she was told to “over-exaggerate” the incident. While giving evidence under oath, Ms Binns said she was instructed to skew her version of events by the accused’s partner when speaking to police. “She told me to basically make out that it was self defence, to over-exaggerate it and make (Matthew) look bad,” she said. A number of witnesses yesterday broke down in tears recalling how Matthew died after the altercation.
THE star witness in a Supreme Court murder trial has claimed she gave a “false” statement to police after her boyfriend was shot dead on her doorstep in Millmerran in 2016.
Rachel Binns took the stand for four hours yesterday, breaking down in tears recalling the “unreal” scene and telling the court she was instructed to skew her version of events by the accused’s partner.
Ms Binns referred to that statement as “the false statement” during her testimony.
Kevin Patrick Hanley, 71, is charged with Matthew Morcus’ murder and faces life in jail if a jury of seven women and five men finds him guilty.
“I just saw my boyfriend get shot, I was freaking out and (Hanley’s partner) told me to over-exaggerate it,” Ms Binns said.
“She ... told me to make out like it was self defence, over-exaggerate and make (Matthew Morcus) look bad.
“Kevin (Hanley) was looking at me so I said it was accidental, I just saw what had happened and I didn’t want it to happen to me.”
Hanley’s partner, Kay Bruin, took to the stand yesterday to tell defence barrister Michael Copley she and accused Hanley drove to the Cypress Gardens address after receiving a text that Ms Binns and Mr Morcus were fighting.
What she didn’t see, she told the court, was the gun until it was too late.
“I could see (Hanley’s) silhouette and that’s when I realised it was a gun because I could see the silhouette of the butt,” Ms Bruin said.
“I knew when I saw him, by the colour of his face, that I had made a wrong call.”
The deceased’s girlfriend Ms Binns also recalled the moment she saw Hanley “pull the trigger” under moonlight.
“Matthew held his chest and said ‘what have you done’,” she said.
“I stood back and I didn’t know what had happened; it thought it was really cruel joke because it was a bit unreal.”
The court also heard from a child witness, 13, who said she “heard a loud bang and then Matthew moaning in pain”.
Justice Martin Burns allowed the evidence to be played with The Chronicle present as he believed it was in the interests of justice for it to be heard.