Snowtown

by Jeremy Pudney

  ‘Yes.’

  ‘What was done about transporting it?’

  ‘Him and Wagner went out and hired a trailer.’

  ‘What happened to the four-wheel drive in relation to the trailer?’

  ‘It was reversed into under the carport, the drums, the garbage bags, more electrical items that he had stored in there, loaded into the four-wheel drive and then it was driven onto the trailer.’

  ‘Then was there any conversation on the topic of where this was all going?’

  ‘He just told me that a friend of his out in the country would store it for him and if I wanted—when I wanted to actually start working on the vehicle I could just let him know and just go up and pick it up.’

  ‘Did you help with the garbage bags?’

  ‘Yes.’

  ‘Was there a problem when you were helping with the garbage bags?’

  ‘Yes, when I got one up out of the cellar walking towards the four-wheel drive…the bottom fell out of the bag.’

  ‘What did you then do?’

  ‘I then just looked to see what was fallen out of the bag, it was sort of clothing, several used gloves, some other general rubbish, a little bit of paperwork. Would have been soiled clothing, gloves, I didn’t know what was on it. I had whatever it was on my hands so I grabbed a pair of gloves.’

  ‘Did you have the gloves in your garage?’

  Yes.’

  ‘For what purpose did you have the gloves there?’

  ‘Cleaning up around the place, picking up old slimy dog bones off the lawn before I mowed it.’

  ‘Did you know that there was a box of gloves located in a wardrobe in your bedroom?’

  ‘Yes, because when my wife and I did the first aid course they advised us it would be a very good idea to carry one pair of gloves in your pocket or purse.’

  ‘Did you collect the material that had fallen out of the bag?’

  ‘Yes, Bunting and Wagner helped.’

  ‘What did you do with it?’

  ‘Put it into a fresh garbage bag.’

  ‘What did you do with the gloves that you wore?’

  ‘From memory, threw them into the bag as well.’

  The garbage bag incident was Haydon’s explanation for how his DNA came to be among the contents, mixed with debris from Troy Youde’s murder.

  Next he had to explain his visits to Hoyleton and Snowtown.

  ‘Can I then come to 1999, in particular, at some stage did you meet or see Kathy and Simon Jones?’

  ‘Yes.’

  ‘When was it you first saw them, or in what circumstances did you first see them in 1999?’

  ‘[Gail Sinclair] had just been admitted to hospital. I didn’t really want to sit in the house on my own all night and Bunting said he was going up to see Simon and Kathy, asked me if I wanted to come along for the drive.’

  ‘Which vehicle did you go in?’

  ‘A Volvo that Bunting had purchased.’

  ‘Did something happen to that Volvo?’

  ‘Yes, the engine blew up at Lochiel.’

  ‘What did you do then?’

  ‘Walked the 30 kilometres to Snowtown.’

  ‘What happened when you got there?’

  ‘We went to the Joneses’ house.’

  ‘Did you go to the Joneses’ house at Hoyleton at some stage?’

  ‘After that, yes.’

  ‘So when you went to Snowtown, how did that fit in with going to their house at Hoyleton?’

  ‘They were still moving property down from Hoyleton to Snowtown.’

  ‘When you got to the Joneses’ house, what did you do?’

  ‘Knocked on the door, it was early hours of the morning so it took a little while for them to answer. Kathy invited us in and we stayed the night.’

  ‘Did you return to Adelaide?’

  ‘The following day, yes.’

  ‘How did you get back there?’

  ‘Simon drove us back.’

  ‘Did you have a shower while you were at the Joneses’ on that occasion?’

  ‘Yes, I did that morning.’

  ‘You said there was a shift from Hoyleton to Snowtown. Did you help with that shift on one day or more than one day?’

  ‘From memory about two or three days.’

  ‘What was shifted on the day or days that you helped?’

  ‘Some vehicles, a couple of vehicles, just general household stuff he had in the shed at Hoyleton.’

  ‘When you went to Hoyleton, did you see the Land Cruiser?’

  ‘Yes.’

  ‘Did you say anything to Bunting about that?’

  ‘I don’t remember actually saying anything to him about it.’

  ‘Did you see drums in the back of the Land Cruiser?’

  ‘The vehicle still appeared the same as when it left my place.’

  ‘Was the vehicle or the Land Cruiser taken to Snowtown?’

  ‘Yes.’

  ‘How did it get there?’

  ‘It was taken down there on a trailer.’

  ‘Who organised the trailer?’

  ‘Bunting, from memory.’

  ‘On that occasion, when you helped moving the Land Cruiser to Snowtown on the trailer, can you say whether or not you had a shower on that occasion?’

  ‘I think I did.’

  ‘Can I come to the lease [bank lease]: when did you first hear anything about the possibility of a lease of a bank at Snowtown? First of all, what month?’

  ‘January.’

  ‘Who raised it with you?’

  ‘Kathy Jones, she was actually talking to Bunting.’

  ‘What did you hear said?’

  ‘She just said, “The bank across the road is up for rent.”’

  ‘Did you hear the circumstances in which it was raised with Bunting as to why he might have an interest in such a place?’

  ‘He had…just said he wanted to get away for a while.’

  ‘Were you there when the lease was obviously signed?’

  ‘Yes, I was.’

  ‘How did you come to be a signatory to the lease?’

  ‘Bunting and I were toying with the idea of going into business together and we were going to—my understanding was we were going to use it for storage of equipment and finished product and when Bunting was filling out the lease he started writing my Christian name and I asked him why he was writing my name on there.’

  ‘What did he tell you?’

  ‘He said, “If you’re going to be part of the business, you may as well go on the lease.” I then told him, “Use my former name because I don’t want it to get back to Centrelink.’”

  ‘Your former name is Mark Lawrence?’

  ‘Yes.’

  ‘Did you sign the lease?’

  ‘Yes.’

  ‘Were you present looking at the bank before that day in the presence of the Michaels?’

  ‘Yes.’

  ‘Was anything said by Bunting about what he would store in the bank?’

  ‘He told Mrs Michael that he would be storing the equipment, some finished product, and he asked her if he could store some drums of chemicals.’

  ‘Was there any conversation about a key to the vault?’

  ‘Yes, Bunting asked her if there was a key to the vault.’

  ‘What was said about that?’

  ‘Mrs Michael said, “Yes” there was one, she would drop it in.’

  Haydon admitted helping move the barrels into the vault. He admitted to travelling to Snowtown at Bunting’s request to pay the bank rent. However there was another, more sinister visit he needed to address before the jury.

  Earlier in the trial, Vlassakis had told of a visit involving himself, Haydon, Bunting and Wagner. They had taken cement which was to be poured into the barrels so they could be dumped at sea. Vlassakis claimed he and Haydon had gone into the vault, then left as Bunting and Wagner began to cut up victims’ bodies.’

  Now, as he sat in the witness box, Mark Haydon told a very dif
ferent story about that journey to Snowtown.

  ‘Did you take anything with you in the car?’

  ‘Yes.’

  ‘What was placed in your car?’

  ‘Buckets and hoses, some white shopping bags, this is at Bundarra [Bunting’s house]. Then we went to Mofflin Road [Wagner’s house], John told me to reverse my car up to the back of Wagner’s car. Then transferred some bags of concrete from Wagner’s car into mine, then some more shopping bags were put in the car. Then we went up to Snowtown.’

  ‘Was there anything said about the reason for going to Snowtown that day?’

  ‘He [Bunting] said he was going to cut the roos up to reduce the space that they were taking up and then eventually fill the drums with acid and get rid of them—and concrete.’

  ‘When you got there, did you take anything into the bank?’

  ‘I helped move the concrete in and I handed him—handed Bunting some bottles of acid that were in the back of my vehicle.’

  ‘When was the acid placed in the vehicle?’

  ‘Earlier that day.’

  ‘Where at?’

  ‘A hardware store in Salisbury.’

  ‘Do you remember how many bottles there were?’

  ‘From memory, three or four.’

  ‘Did you have any intention of being involved in the cutting up of the roo carcasses?’

  ‘None.’

  ‘Was there a reason for that?’

  ‘I think the sight of rotting animal carcasses tends to make me vomit.’

  ‘Did you take a change of clothes?’

  ‘No.’

  ‘How long did you stay at the bank on that occasion?’

  ‘One, possibly two hours.’

  ‘What were you doing at the time?’

  ‘I was just wandering around in the foyer, looking at the Joneses’ electrical gear.’

  ‘Did you put any gloves on at any time when you were in the bank?’

  ‘No.’

  ‘At any time when you went to Snowtown did you ever put on any gloves?’

  ‘No.’

  ‘Did you see, first of all, Mr Bunting in any different clothes at any time during this period that you were at the bank?’

  ‘Yes, he put on a pair of white disposable overalls over the top of what he was wearing.’

  ‘What about Mr Wagner, did you see him wear something different?’

  ‘His CFS [Country Fire Service] overalls.’

  ‘What about Mr Vlassakis, did you see him wearing anything different?’

  ‘Not from memory, no.’

  ‘At any time when you were there, did you see anybody come out of the vault wearing gloves?’

  ‘No.’

  ‘After this one or two hours, where did you go?’

  ‘Then went over to the Joneses’.’

  ‘What happened there?’

  ‘Bunting, Wagner and Vlassakis all had showers.’

  ‘Did you have a shower?’

  ‘No.’

  ‘Then where did you go?’

  ‘Back to Adelaide, as far as I can remember.’

  ‘When you were at the bank and Bunting and Wagner and Vlassakis were there and you told us that you were looking at electrical equipment when Bunting and Wagner had changed their clothes—referring to that time when you were told they were cutting up roos’ carcasses—did you ever yourself go into the vault on that occasion?’

  ‘No.’

  ‘Did you ever put your head through the plastic to see what they were doing?’

  ‘No.’

  ‘Did you ever make any comment on the topic of your stomach?’

  ‘Yes.’

  ‘What did you say?’

  ‘From memory, I said to Jamie, “I don’t know how you can stand doing that because I wouldn’t be able to stomach it.’”

  During his two days of testimony, Haydon explained away other aspects of the case against him. He denied knowledge of victims’ property found in his cars or house, except for Gary O’Dwyer’s lounge suite, which he said Bunting had given him. He acknowledged taking Jamie Vlassakis to visit a doctor, but hadn’t known Vlassakis was impersonating a murder victim at the time. He denied any knowledge that the bank accounts of Fred Brooks or Gavin Porter were being accessed.

  After two days of explanations and denials, Haydon had to face cross-examination. Wendy Abraham probed his accounts of various events, often flustering Haydon to the extent that he would pause for long periods of time before answering her questions. In particular, Ms Abraham queried Haydon on the visit to the vault when the bodies were mutilated.

  ‘Why didn’t you say, “Hang on, if this is what we are doing, I don’t want to be involved in this?’”

  ‘I thought he meant loading and unloading of vehicles.’

  ‘When you were sitting in the car did you tell him, “I don’t want to be involved in this”?’

  ‘Well, I had previously told him that I wouldn’t be going in there to the vault if they were doing anything with the roos’ carcasses.’

  ‘Why did you think the help was sought for loading and unloading?’

  ‘Concrete, bags of concrete, I assumed wouldn’t be very light.’

  ‘But there was already Mr Wagner, he was quite a tall chap wasn’t he, or is he?’

  ‘Yes.’

  ‘Mr Vlassakis was already there?’

  ‘Yes.’

  ‘And Mr Bunting?’

  ‘Yes.’

  ‘Didn’t need four people to carry a few bags of concrete, did it?’

  Haydon was feeling the pressure as Ms Abraham probed his version of events.

  ‘You have told us there was acid that day, where did that come from?’

  ‘That had been purchased earlier.’

  ‘By you?’

  ‘Not by me, but in my presence.’

  ‘When earlier?’

  ‘Mid afternoon.’

  ‘Before you were asked to go for a drive?’

  ‘Yes.’

  ‘When it was purchased—that is, the acid—you were in your car?’

  ‘Yes.’

  ‘Put in the back, was it?’

  ‘Yes.’

  ‘Still, when you were asked a little later to drive to Snowtown and give him a hand if needed, you didn’t think at that stage it had to do with acid?’

  ‘I’d actually forgotten about the acid at that point.’

  ‘Anyway, you get to the bank and the property is unloaded?’

  ‘Yes.’

  ‘The vault is opened?’

  ‘Yes.’

  ‘All four of you went in?’

  ‘No, I didn’t.’

  ‘You stayed out?’

  ‘Yes.’

  ‘Did Mr Bunting say, “Look, Mr Haydon, you’d better stay out”?’

  ‘There was no need to because I would have.’

  ‘You could have walked in any time you wanted?’

  ‘I could have.’

  ‘There was talk going on inside the vault?’

  ‘I couldn’t make out what was actually being said.’

  ‘Could you hear voices?’

  ‘I could hear voices, yes.’

  ‘Bit of laughter?’

  ‘On the odd occasion.’

  ‘And you just stood outside the vault?’

  ‘I was looking at the Joneses’ electrical gear.’

  ‘For possibly up to a couple of hours?’

  ‘Yes, possibly.’

  ‘Didn’t once put your head in and say, “Hang on, how long are we going to be?’”

  ‘I didn’t put my head in, but I stood next to the opening and asked them.’

  ‘The opening had a split in it?’

  ‘Yes.’

  ‘You just stood there and didn’t move the split at all?’

  ‘Just slightly, but I never looked in.’

  ‘Moved the split, looked the other way, and asked, “How long are you going to be?’”

  ‘Yes.’

  ‘Mr Haydon, t
hat day you were in the vault when the barrels were opened, I suggest. You say that just didn’t happen?’

  ‘Didn’t happen.’

  ‘And there was talk about Troy, just didn’t happen?’

  ‘Not that I heard.’

  ‘I suggest you were in the vault when there was talking about Troy—didn’t happen?’

  ‘Didn’t happen.’

  ‘The barrel was opened and your wife was in it and there was talk about your wife, just didn’t happen?’

  ‘Didn’t happen.’

  Ms Abraham also attempted to cast doubt over Haydon’s claims that he had leased the Snowtown bank with Bunting for a business venture they were embarking on.

  ‘From that day, what did you do in relation to the business?’

  ‘Asked Bunting when it was going to start producing.’

  ‘Apart from asking Bunting when it was going to start producing, what did you actually do in relation to the business?’

  ‘Nothing, actually.’

  There were questions too about why he’d allowed the barrels to be moved into his newly leased ‘business’ premises.

  ‘By that stage you were a joint lessee for this bank?’

  ‘Yes.’

  ‘You believed it was going to be for the business?’

  ‘Yes.’

  ‘Did it occur to you to ask, “What have the barrels got to do with the business that we are going to set up?’”

  ‘No.’

  In the final moments of her cross-examination, Ms Abraham tested Haydon’s nerve. The atmosphere in the courtroom was electric, and each and every juror was watching Haydon intently.

  ‘The situation is, isn’t it, that you were involved with John Bunting, Robert Wagner and James Vlassakis in murdering Troy Youde?’

  ‘No.’

  ‘That you had been told before that John Bunting and Robert Wagner had killed people?’

  ‘No.’

  ‘That after the murder of Troy Youde, a barrel with his body, and two other barrels, with Gavin Porter, Barry Lane and Michael Gardiner, were brought to your premises, and you knowingly stored those barrels, that is, knowing that there were bodies in there?’

  ‘No.’

  ‘Just didn’t happen?’

  ‘I didn’t know what the barrels really had in them, no.’

  ‘I suggest after that time Fred Brooks’s body was stored in your shed.’

  ‘No, not to my knowledge.’

  ‘Gary O’Dwyer’s?’

  ‘Not to my knowledge.’

  ‘And you were involved with the murder of your wife?’

  ‘No.’