A FORMER police officer who did not tell detectives that he'd had a threesome at the site of a murder- suicide hours before a shooting has been found guilty of making a false statutory declaration.
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Timothy William Scott was a Launceston policeman when John Clements shot and killed Benjamin Aherne, wounded Mr Aherne's girlfriend and killed himself with a rifle in 2011.
Hours before the October 7, shooting Scott had a threesome with two women having sexual relationships with Mr Clements.
Yesterday in the Devonport Magistrates Court, Chief Magistrate Michael Hill found Scott guilty of making a false statutory declaration and false statements.
Scott had pleaded not guilty.
In his statement to police after the shooting, Scott did not tell them he had been involved in a threesome at a Watkinson Street, Devonport address before Mr Clements committed the murder- suicide there. This information would have helped police "piece together" the events surrounding the killing, Mr Hill said.
Scott explained to police during a later interview on October 10, 2011, that he did not reveal he was involved in the threesome before the shooting because he was embarrassed. "I'd never been involved in anything like a threesome before," he told police.
In another interview on October 19, 2011, Scott told police that his head was spinning after the murder-suicide.
"The only thing I was thinking was `Why aren't I dead?'," Scott told police. "I just couldn't get things clear in my head."
When police asked him whether he thought his omission had an impact on their investigations, he said he understood that in his position he was expected to act with integrity and honesty 24 hours a day, seven days a week.
Defence counsel Greg Richardson previously argued that a statutory declaration form used by police taking Scott's statement omitted important wording.
The document was not in fact a statutory declaration, he said.
Mr Hill said yesterday that the form met legal requirements.
On October 7, 2011, Mr Clements's ex-partner, with whom he was still in a sexual relationship, met at her home with his other sexual partner, who was Scott's wife.
The women had sex while Mr Clements was working night shift.
Scott's wife, who was separated from him, contacted the police officer and invited him to the house. He arrived at the Devonport home at 4.30am and had a threesome with the women.
After Scott left, Mr Clements arrived at 7am, and was unaware that the police officer had been present at the house.
Mr Clements punched his ex- partner and left the property.
After his wife told him of the assault, Scott arrived to advise Mr Clements's ex-partner to report the matter to police.
Mr Aherne, a friend of Mr Clements's ex-partner, then arrived at the property after she called him, and Scott left with his wife. Mr Clements returned at 7.30am and killed Mr Aherne with a high-powered .44 calibre rifle.
Mr Aherne's girlfriend went to investigate what occurred and Mr Clements shot and critically wounded her with the rifle.
He then shot himself.
Scott was returning to Mr Clements' ex-partner's house before he was stopped by police near the property.
Mr Hill adjourned the matter until March 6 for sentencing and ordered that Scott be assessed for community service.