AFTER days of denying his guilt, a home invader has admitted murdering mother-of-three Karen Hodgson during a botched marijuana raid.
In a dramatic turn of events in the Supreme Court today, Scott Mundy, 31, changed his plea and admitted his involvement in the murder of Ms Hodgson in April 2010.
It was meant to be the fourth day of Mundy's trial but instead James Stewart, for Mundy, asked for his client to be rearraigned.
He then entered a plea of guilty.
Justice Michael David told jurors Mundy would now be dealt with "accordingly".
"It is a rather dramatic turn of events," he said.
"Let me say it was, in a sense, a tragic but most interesting legal trial.
"You have heard him admit his guilt. He has pleaded guilty and admitted the crime."
Earlier this week the court heard Mundy was one of three men who broke into Ms Hodgson's Sturt home on April 19, 2010.
Prosecutors said one was wielding a sawn-off shotgun that fired "inadvertently" as Ms Hodgson, her son Daniel, now 21, and several others were ordered into bedrooms by the robbers.
Ms Hodgson was shot in the back and died within minutes.
Jim Pearce, QC, prosecuting, said the target of the robbery was four cannabis plants Ms Hodgson was growing in her garage.
"On the prosecution case, it was a robbery that went terribly wrong," he said.
"Four cannabis plants, that's what prompted this attack and that's what led to the death of a 46-year-old mother of three."
Daniel De Groot, Ms Hodgson's youngest son, witnessed her murder and gave evidence in the trial earlier this week.
He told the court how he grabbed a piece of wood and a glass of water to ward off the intruders when he heard them bashing through the front door.
However, he dropped them in shock when a man holding a sawn-off shotgun started yelling at him to get into a bedroom.
He said Ms Hodgson was "confused" as she had just woken up, and started walking into his bedroom instead of her own when he heard the gun go off.
"I saw a flash and my mother fell (to the floor). My ears were blaring and I couldn't hear anything."
He said one of the attackers then asked "where's the keys" to the garage, to which he replied "mum knows".
Another man, whose identity is suppressed, has also pleaded guilty to Ms Hodgson's murder.
Prosecutors allege that man, 26, of Blair Athol, was holding the gun when it discharged.
The matter will return to court next week.
I am happy that I can go around in my community and not have to look over my shoulder if a police car goes past... for all those bogans and druggies reading this.. fuck you.. you choose this life... you die by it!! Being in the hospital community, I see the same people overdose each week and for the most part get over it , and sometime they don't come back to life.. tough luck.. they took the chances and lost.. who cares..... harsh I know... but they know the risks.
In a dramatic turn of events in the Supreme Court today, Scott Mundy, 31, changed his plea and admitted his involvement in the murder of Ms Hodgson in April 2010.
It was meant to be the fourth day of Mundy's trial but instead James Stewart, for Mundy, asked for his client to be rearraigned.
He then entered a plea of guilty.
Justice Michael David told jurors Mundy would now be dealt with "accordingly".
"It is a rather dramatic turn of events," he said.
"Let me say it was, in a sense, a tragic but most interesting legal trial.
"You have heard him admit his guilt. He has pleaded guilty and admitted the crime."
Earlier this week the court heard Mundy was one of three men who broke into Ms Hodgson's Sturt home on April 19, 2010.
Ms Hodgson was shot in the back and died within minutes.
Jim Pearce, QC, prosecuting, said the target of the robbery was four cannabis plants Ms Hodgson was growing in her garage.
"On the prosecution case, it was a robbery that went terribly wrong," he said.
"Four cannabis plants, that's what prompted this attack and that's what led to the death of a 46-year-old mother of three."
Daniel De Groot, Ms Hodgson's youngest son, witnessed her murder and gave evidence in the trial earlier this week.
He told the court how he grabbed a piece of wood and a glass of water to ward off the intruders when he heard them bashing through the front door.
However, he dropped them in shock when a man holding a sawn-off shotgun started yelling at him to get into a bedroom.
He said Ms Hodgson was "confused" as she had just woken up, and started walking into his bedroom instead of her own when he heard the gun go off.
"I saw a flash and my mother fell (to the floor). My ears were blaring and I couldn't hear anything."
He said one of the attackers then asked "where's the keys" to the garage, to which he replied "mum knows".
Another man, whose identity is suppressed, has also pleaded guilty to Ms Hodgson's murder.
Prosecutors allege that man, 26, of Blair Athol, was holding the gun when it discharged.
The matter will return to court next week.
Well HELLO ... Another example of fucking around with drugs is not good for you.
Yes, Bad things happen. And truthfully, no one leads a clean life. But to die in such a vicious attack is not acceptable under any means. Her child had to watch this happen to his mother!!!! You do not know the family, nor do you know their situation. GET OFF YOUR FUCKING HIGH HORSE AND HAVE SOME RESPECT FOR A SENSELESS MURDER YOU FUCKING PIG!!!!!!!
ReplyDeleteThe point to the story was NOT that she had four measly little cannabis plants growing in her property, but that they got broken into and the robbery turned into a murder. WHICH HER 19yr old (at the time this happened) HAD TO WITNESS.
I lead a clean life, I do not do drugs and I lived in a surrounding suburb to this woman and had my house broken into, at one point I was home and luckily they got scared off. Unfortunately in Ms Hodgens case, they had a weapon.
SO AGAIN I SAY TO YOU BUDDY...FUCK YOU,
You heartless piece of shit!!! How dare you talk about this womans life like it was nothing. Who the hell do you think you are. Whether you work in a "hospital community" or not its no different. This lady had her life taken from her infront of her son in a disgusting manner. Why dont you give me your address and ill come to your place and do the same thing then have douche bags like yourself slander you and your family over the internet and as usual behind a keyboard!!!! YOU ARE A FUCKING DICK AND I HOPE YOU ROT IN HELL!!!
ReplyDeleteYou are both missing the point ... which is the point I was trying to make. Whenever there is a home invasion or the like, it seems when you boil it down, it comes down to drugs being involved. If you take your biased opinion away and look at the facts, the death of this woman was terrible, but at the end of the day if she didn't have plants growing on her property, she would probably be alive today. It's not hard to understand. I have friends who grow plants for personal use.. and do you know what? .. they are always afraid of being raided or broken into because of this. If you're going to play with fire, you have to expect to be burnt. It's not rocket science. Dont get me wrong.. it's terrible she died .. but I think you need to be venting your anger at the people who do home invasions and break ins .. just to get a bit of weed.
ReplyDelete