Court told ‘stupid’ act self-defence
A WOMAN accused of kidnapping Brisbane private school teacher Anthony Stott hours before his bizarre death was drunk and “stupid” but was acting in self-defence when he entered her home like “a zombie” with “crazy eyes” and a knife, a court has heard.
Mr Stott, 43, was killed by a semitrailer on the M1 in February 2020 after being held captive at a Cudgera Creek farm in northern NSW.
It followed a mysterious mid-air meltdown on a flight from Sydney to Brisbane the previous day – during which he masturbated and yelled obscenities – as well as a late-night, highspeed drive from Brisbane that ended with him skidding off the M1 in his BMW and abandoning it.
The respected St Peters Lutheran College teacher then wandered onto the remote farm about 3.30am, where he was tied to a plastic chair and allegedly hit with a golf club as his captors demanded to know “why the f--k he was there”, Lismore District Court was told.
Lauren Grainger is standing trial, having pleaded not guilty to the aggravated kidnapping of Mr Stott.
Her co-accused, ex-partner Mark Frost and a Craig Button, pleaded guilty earlier this year and were given reduced sentences to testify against her.
Judge Jeffrey Mclennan SC on Friday directed the jury to find Ms Grainger not guilty of causing Mr Stott bodily harm with a golf club, but said they now had to determine if she kidnapped him to gain information.
The court heard Ms Grainger would testify in her own defence on Monday after the Crown closed its case.
Defence barrister David Funch, instructed by Howden Saggers Lawyers, told jurors that Ms Grainger might have been drunk and “stupid” on the night of the incident “but she’s not a kidnapper”.
He said she would tell the jury that she was acting in self-defence when confronted by a knife-wielding Mr Stott at her back door.
“She jolted backwards out of fear and shock,” Mr Funch told the court.
“He just stood there, staring at her, with what she described as crazy eyes. It was as if he was a zombie. It was utterly bizarre. Her first impression was that he was a drug addict.”
Mr Funch said Mr Stott lunged towards her and an “absolutely terrified” Ms Grainger “let out a high-pitched squeal”, causing Frost to “pounce” on Mr Stott and restrain him.
Mr Stott had dropped the knife and was taken by Frost to the shed, where Button tied him to the chair.
Mr Funch said while Ms Grainger had “whacked” the chair with the golf club and yelled at Mr Stott “who are you?”, she never hit him.
Mr Stott told Ms Grainger he had been to the house before to rob it, and she took photos of him tied to the chair and texted them to friends, asking if they knew him.
Mr Funch said when Mr Stott was released about three hours after he was detained, he begged Ms Grainger, Frost and Button not to call police and walked from the property.
“It wasn’t like he just broke free or (was) running for his life,” he said.
Mr Funch said Ms Grainger had initially lied to police because she was “absolutely petrified” at being implicated in Mr Stott’s death, but later made a full confession.
He said the jury would find that while Ms Grainger might have been drunk and stupid – and that “there might have been 50 (other) ways to handle that situation” – she was not a kidnapper.