Jodie Hill denies involvement in alleged murder of 72-year-old Dimboola man John Hunter
John Hunter was found dead in his Dimboola home in 2023. (ABC Wimmera: Tamara Clark)
In short:
Jodie Hill, 45, says she was present when John Hunter was beaten in his home but was not responsible for his death, a Victorian Supreme Court jury has heard.
Ms Hill says another man was responsible for Mr Hunter's death and that she was afraid to report the incident to police because she feared for her life.
What's next?
The trial continues.
The woman on trial for the murder of 72-year-old Dimboola man John Hunter has told a Victorian Supreme Court jury that she was there when he was bashed with a hammer, but was not responsible for his death.
Warning: This article contains graphic details that readers may find distressing.
Jodie Hill, 45, has pleaded not guilty to the single charge of murder.
Mr Hunter was found dead in his home in Victoria Street, Dimboola, on the evening of January 23, 2023.
Ms Hill told the jury she watched another man, Thomas Clarke, strike Mr Hunter in the head with a hammer half a dozen times in the deceased's west Victorian home.
Ms Hill denied she took part in the attack.
Earlier in the trial, the court heard Mr Hunter was found days after his death.
There were pictures carved into his torso, his eyes had been gouged and his genitalia removed.
'Owed him some coin'
Ms Hill told the court she had only met Mr Clarke during the week of the alleged murder and understood he was a cousin of her partner at the time, Phillip Kennedy.
She told the court that she, Mr Clarke and Mr Kennedy drank together on January 20, 2023, the day of the alleged murder.
The drinking session began when Mr Clarke arrived at Ms Hill and Mr Kennedy's caravan in the Dimboola Riverside Caravan Park, the court heard.
Later that day the three walked around town, visiting the pub, cafe and one of their other neighbours' houses before returning to the caravan park.
Ms Hill said Mr Clarke flirted with her and tried to "crack on" while she was inebriated, despite her relationship with Mr Kennedy, who she said was highly-inebriated.
Ms Hill told the court she left the park to collect rainwater and buy more beer and that Mr Clarke asked to join her, saying he wanted to visit a man around the corner who "owed him some coin".
She said she followed Mr Clarke to the back of Mr Hunter's house, but she did not know who lived there.
The Dimboola house John Hunter was found dead in on January 23, 2023. (ABC News: Tamara Clark)
'Standing there gobsmacked'
When Mr Clarke knocked on Mr Hunter's back door, the court heard, Ms Hill said a "frail, skinny looking" older man opened a sliding glass door and asked them to leave.
Ms Hill told the court Mr Clarke pushed his way inside and grabbed Mr Hunter by the shoulders, shaking him and punching him multiple times before he fell to the floor.
Mr Clarke then put his foot on Mr Hunter's chest and repeatedly struck his head and face with a hammer, yelling insults such as "paedophile", Ms Hill told the court.
"He put his foot on his chest and then just started really swinging with a hammer into his head, it was way more than a couple of times," Ms Hill said.
Ms Hill said the alleged attack caused some blood loss, but nothing like she had since seen in the crime-scene photos.
"I was just standing there gobsmacked," Ms Hill said.
She told the court she tried to check whether Mr Hunter was alive by touching his arm and leg.
She said Mr Clarke told her to get away from the body and to not tell anyone what happened.
Ms Hill said she walked slowly out of the house, then sprinted home to the caravan park.
She said she did not notify police of the incident because she feared for her own life.
"From seeing what he done I didn't know what he was going to do to me," Ms Hill said.
Deceased was a sex offender
Ms Hill's defence barrister Tim Marsh asked Detective Senior Constable Luke Collyer whether it was true that Mr Hunter was convicted of one charge of rape in 2020 over a 2016 incident in which Mr Hunter continued to have sex with a person after they asked him to stop.
The court heard Mr Hunter pleaded guilty to that charge and spent two years in prison.
Mr Hunter was released from prison in April 2022, the court heard.
Mr Collyer said Mr Hunter had no criminal record of sexual offending against children and that the rumours suggesting so were not supported by evidence.
Mother tells court of tough times
Ms Hill told the court she had spent 15 years working in shearing sheds and hospitality in South Austalian and west Victorian towns and that she was the mother of four boys aged between five and 22.
She said she became homeless after losing her home during the COVID-19 pandemic, when the owner of her rental property in Harrow put the house back on the market.
While holding back tears, she told the court she struggled to find a new rental at that time.
"[I was] sort of a couch cushion for a while … that went on for a few months," Ms Hill told the court.
"That's when I came across Phillip Kennedy."
The trial continues.