A self-proclaimed “prophet” has spoken in tongues at a Supreme Court trial examining her son’s alleged murder in a remote bush village in Far North Queensland.
Key points:
- Ashley Fornier has pleaded not guilty to the alleged murder of his friend Paul Carroll
- The victim’s mother gives evidence in court about the moments leading up to the shooting
- Mr Fornier’s lawyer says her client was defending himself when he fired a gun
Ashley James Fornier is accused of shooting his childhood friend Paul Carroll, 35, in the chest with a semi-automatic rifle after a drinking session at a home at Watsonville, west of Cairns, in November 2021.
The Supreme Court trial in Cairns heard police found Mr Carroll’s body on a dirt driveway at the home just before 4pm on November 23, 2021, with a single spent cartridge nearby.
Mr Fornier’s legal team argue he acted in self-defence and he has pleaded not guilty.
Religious beliefs raised during cross examination
The court heard Mr Carroll and his mother Michelle Carroll had been drinking together at a hotel in Atherton from 10am before picking up two six-packs of beer and returning home to Watsonville at around noon.
They were invited to Mr Fornier’s home nearby, where the trio continued to drink together in a shed before an argument broke out after Ms Carroll refused to leave.
Mr Fornier’s barrister, Brydie Bilic, asked Ms Carroll about her religious beliefs during cross examination.
“Do you refer to yourself as a prophet?” Ms Bilic asked.
“On occasions, if I need to be, yes,” Ms Carroll replied.
Ms Bilic asked if she was “able to speak in tongues” and if she could “do so now”.
Ms Carroll leaned forward into the court’s microphone and said one sentence in an unknown language.
“I suggest that you started speaking in tongues after being asked to leave,” Ms Bilic said.
“No recall of the conversation,” Ms Carroll replied.
“I suggest that you were yelling, agree or disagree,” Ms Bilic said.
“I disagree because I can’t remember it,” Ms Carroll said.
Court hears father told son he was ‘going to ruin your life’
The accused man’s father, Dereck Fornier, also gave evidence at the trial.
He told the court Mr Carroll and his mother were “pretty drunk” and “arguing with each other” when they arrived at his home.
“They kept arguing between each other, speaking different lingo … it was just mumble jumble,” Dereck Fornier told the court.
He told the court his son asked the pair to leave and that Mr Carroll walked to his car, but his mother did not follow.
Dereck Fornier said his son again told them to leave before Mr Carroll “ran up and kicked Ashley in the balls”.
“He buckled over, then Paul kept hitting him.”
The court heard Ashley Fornier left a trail of blood as he left the scene and returned to Mr Carroll with a gun.
“I tried to push him [Mr Fornier] backwards a bit, said ‘mate don’t do this, what are you doing?’,” Dereck Fornier told the court.
“[I said] ‘you are going to ruin your whole life’.”
He said Mr Carroll said “shoot me” several times before saying “I’ll kill the lot of you”.
Dereck Fornier said his son then pulled the trigger.
The trial before Justice James Henry continues.