Stephen George Russell: trial for man accused of causing double-fatal crash given priority in Tamworth District Court

Stephen George Russell has pleaded not guilty to a charge of dangerous driving occasioning death; dangerous driving causing grievous bodily harm; and doing an act with intent to pervert the course of justice.

Russell's defence solicitor Peter Schmidt appeared on his behalf at the readiness hearing on Tuesday.

The Crown prosecutor Matthew Coates told the court he expected the trial would take up to a fortnight.

"In the matter of Russell I would anticipate two weeks, there will be expert evidence from the Crown and from the defence, and there's the matter of averting the court of justice which is also on the indictment," he said.

Judge Deborah Payne said the trial would need to run in February next year as a matter of priority. "Is this a high profile matter?" she said.

"I can't understand it, count two is the death of Stephen Russell, did it just turn out that the accused had the same name?"

Crown prosecutor Max Dixon, who was also in the readiness hearing, confirmed both the accused and his deceased son-in-law have the same name.

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Russell is accused of causing a double-fatal crash on the Oxley Highway, near Walcha, in January 2019.

His 72-year-old wife, Lynette Marie Russell, and his 38-year-old son-in-law, Stephen Leslie Russell, died at the scene from their injuries.

A passenger in the backseat was seriously injured in the crash.

The matter will return for a further readiness hearing in February next year. Russell's first trial was dramatically abandoned in December 2020 after the Crown was "blindsided" by new evidence which came to light the day before it was due to begin.

The trial was vacated before it opened and the jury was discharged while prosecutors and police investigated. The details of those revelations cannot be reported for legal reasons.

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