A LONG-RUNNING dispute between two Kootingal funeral directors ended yesterday – and police were ordered to foot the bill.
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Jason Patrick Walsh, 32, and Mark Wade Jennar, 39, were accused of bashing retired funeral director John Barr, 68.
But Magistrate Mal MacPherson dropped the charges of common assault and assault occasioning actual bodily harm when he concluded there were serious holes in the police investigation against the pair.
The pair allegedly went to the property of Mr Walsh's former employer, Mr Barr, on the afternoon of August 24 last year where they were alleged to have assaulted and threatened him with a knife over an ongoing dispute about money owed to Mr Walsh.
The two-year feud between the pair started when Mr Walsh decided to leave Mr Barr's funeral business to branch out and start up on his own.
Mr Walsh had worked for Mr Barr for seven years, eventually being asked by Mr Barr to become a partner of the funeral business until his decision to leave.
Upon leaving the business Mr Barr allowed Mr Walsh to continue using the mortuary facilities at his property until the month of the alleged assault.
Mr Walsh had made several failed attempts to have Mr Barr reimburse money he had spent on improvements and upgrades to the mortuary during his employment.
Tamworth Local Court heard on Thursday, in a statement made to police by Mr Barr, that the two men had gone to his address with one allegedly punching the victim and threatening him with a knife.
Mr Walsh and Mr Jennar's barrister, senior counsel Phil Hamill, questioned three police officers involved in the investigation of the alleged incident about a conversation they had with Mr Walsh where he allegedly apologised to the officers for lying to them after an hour of questioning.
In cross-examining Senior Constable Ron Stoltenberg, Constable Ben King and Senior Constable Michael Nelson, Mr Hamill said the trio did not follow police procedure in the investigation of his clients.
He said in failing to record the alleged admission made by Mr Walsh to the officers, when he attended the Tamworth police station of his own accord, it exposed a breakdown in communication and the
system.
"My client attended the police station freely at 2.20am in the morning and was questioned at length about the alleged incident," Mr Hamill told the court.
"If this alleged conversation took place where my client apologised to police for having to lie to them, then why wasn't it recorded?
"This is a serious breakdown in communication and the
system."
Mr Hamill brought into question the way in which the police officers handled the investigation of the case by adding the failure to check his client's alibi – that he was at the offices of The Northern Daily Leader putting in a funeral notice at the time of the alleged assault.
He said failure by the officers to inquire as to whether Mr Walsh was at the location at the time of the alleged incident, and failure to attempt to contact doctors and nurses at Tamworth Base Hospital to authenticate the timing of Mr Barr's injuries, indicated they had conspired against his client.
When questioning Senior Constable Nelson, Mr Hamill asked whether the officers
had conspired against his client, prompting Magistrate MacPherson to instruct the officer not to answer.
In handing down his verdict yesterday Mr MacPherson said it was extraordinary the officers, one of whom had 15 years experience, failed to check any alibis or question any witnesses in relation to the
investigation.
Speaking outside the court yesterday the pair's solicitor, Jason Curtis, said it was a great result for his clients who had maintained their innocence throughout.
The pair were also awarded $21,800 in compensation to be paid back to them by the police.