A man has told the Newcastle Supreme Court he refused an offer to kill Stockton grandmother and swimming teacher Stacey Klimovitch to erase a drug debt, the same woman who was shot dead months later.
Key points:
- Stacey Klimovitch was shot as she answered her front door in 2021
- Alleged getaway driver Stephen Garland has pleaded not guilty to murder
- An unnamed witness told the court he refused an offer to kill the grandmother, months before someone else did
Ms Klimovitch, 61, was shot on her doorstep in June 2021 after answering a knock at the door.
The witness, who cannot be named for legal reasons, gave evidence today in the murder trial of Stephen Garland, who has pleaded not guilty to murder and to being an accessory.
The jury has been told Mr Garland was an alleged getaway driver in the murder and was part of a joint criminal enterprise.
The court was told the alleged enterprise was directed by accused murder mastermind and alleged drug dealer Stuart “Stuey” Campbell, who has since died in prison.
‘Debts and rock’
The witness today said he met Mr Campbell in early 2021.
He said two months after Mr Campbell gave him a quarter of an ounce of the drug ice, worth about $1,000, he was offered the chance to clear his debt if he could “take care of” a woman.
Crown prosecutor Brett Hatfield, SC then asked what, if anything, Mr Campbell had asked him to do.
“He asked me to go and take care of somebody for him … an old lady, his ex-mother-in-law,” the man said.
“[Mr Campbell] said he would give me more rock and that would clear the deck in terms of clearing any debts.”
The witness said at first he did not understand that he was being asked to kill the woman, but soon realised that was the request due to “the look on Stuey’s face”.
The witness said Mr Campbell was angry the woman had slapped him.
The witness said he was adamant with Mr Campbell that he would not carry out the request.
“She was an old lady who really had done nothing wrong ,” the man said, before confirming his recollection in his police statement read to the court.
“For a slap in the face it is just ridiculous. Everyone argues with their mother-in-laws, but you don’t just go knock ’em,” the court heard.
The man said he learned months later via television news that a woman, identified as Stacey Klimovitch, had been shot and killed.
Defence Barrister Tom Hughes has told jurors Mr Garland was “duped” into driving an alleged hitman to Stockton to kill Ms Klimovitch.
Mr Hughes told jurors Mr Campbell was the alleged mastermind and there was no agreement with his client.
The trial before Supreme Court Justice Peter Hamill is nearing its end.
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