Murder case in court
Pre-trial hearing questions location of pistol found inside home
THE discovery of a .22 calibre pistol inside the home of a man shot and killed at Millmerran in October, 2016, was the subject of cross examination by a murder-accused’s legal team.
In a pre-trial hearing in the Toowoomba Supreme Court yesterday, accused Kevin Patrick Hanley sat quietly in the courtroom dock as three witnesses were questioned by his barrister.
Mr Hanley is accused of murdering Matthew David Morcus, 46, arising from a incident at a Ayres Rock Rd residence in Cypress Gardens, south-west of Millmerran, the night of October 13, 2016.
Mr Morcus suffered a single gunshot wound to the chest and died that night.
Witnesses called on during the hearing yesterday included Rachel Binns who was Mr Morcus’ partner at the time of his death.
Mr Hanley’s barrister Ben Power questioned Ms Binns on how a .22 pistol was retrieved from under Mr Morcus’ bed, and how she knew where it was located.
Ms Binns told the hearing she knew Mr Morcus had owned the pistol, having once asked him to bring it to her property to shoot and kill a goanna sometime between May, 2016, and the weeks before her partner’s death.
The hearing before Justice Martin Burns also heard from Craig Thomsen and Detective Colin Harvey.
Mr Hanley, who has been released on bail, has not been required to enter a plea to the charge of murder.
The matter will go to trial at a date yet to be set.