An Australian jury has found a Kildare man not guilty of murder. Trevor Stokes, who is 27 and from Naas, had been charged with bashing Greg Bebensee to death with a tomahawk in Darwin last year. The jury deliberated for seven hours before asking the judge a question about the significance of certain evidence. After receiving an answer, the jury deliberated for a further 10 minutes before bringing in a not guilty verdict.
When summing up the case, Justice Dean Mildren was scathing about the evidence of the chief witness, Lee McLaughlin from Ballymena in County Antrim. He told the jury to have a "good think" about the case and to ask themselves if the witness could have committed the crime himself. The Judge reminded jurors of a catalogue of lies told by Mr Lee McLaughlin.
He asked them to consider whether Mr McLaughlin mugged and murdered Australian Greg Bebensee himself and then blamed it on Mr Stokes to claim a £50,000 reward. Justice Dean Mildren told the jury at Darwin Supreme Court to study a video of Mr McLaughlin telling lies to police about who hid the victim's wallet.
