A MAN already in prison for attempting to have his wife killed offered fellow inmates up to $25,000 and lucky Keno numbers to finish the job, a court heard yesterday.
Subscribe now for unlimited access.
$0/
(min cost $0)
or signup to continue reading
Darryl Scott Donohue, 42, appeared in the Supreme Court in Launceston to contest two counts of having incited to commit murder.
An emotional Angie Donohue told the court of her ‘‘scary’’ six-year relationship with Donohue.
She explained that after the pair split in 2012 Donohue took to following her to the supermarket and hiding in the bushes of her eldest son’s school to watch her movements.
The obsession culminated in Donohue trying to enlist two separate men to kill her, one of whom was an undercover police officer, the court heard.
Crown prosecutor Jackie Hartnett alleged Donohue was undeterred by his 2013 jail sentence and went on to offer rewards to two fellow prisoners to have Mrs Donohue killed – asking the second man to also kill her parents in order for Donohue to gain custody of the pair’s sole child.
‘‘[Donohue] has a history of approaching men he doesn’t know, providing them with information about his wife and asking them to kill her,’’ Ms Hartnett said.
‘‘He wasn’t just making flippant comments but he actually wanted her dead.’’
Donohue accused Mrs Donohue of assaulting him, then allegedly later went on to write to Mrs Donohue's lawyer: "This case is not over, you and your client have not won anything."
He allegedly told one of the would-be killers he did not care if her eldest child was present at her murder and planned to tell the two boys that "mummy got involved with the wrong people".
Defence counsel Evan Hughes told the jury context would prove important when considering evidence.
He said one of the men Donohue asked to kill his wife "had a lot to gain, had a lot to achieve" by alleging the crime.
"His engagement has some degree of self-interest," Mr Hughes said.
The trial before Justice Robert Pearce continues today.