Ashley Gaddie, a self-employed carpenter accused of murdering schoolteacher Dannielle Finlay-Jones, has filed a lawsuit to prevent DNA evidence from being used against him in court.
Gaddie, 33, was apprehended just after midnight on Wednesday following a large manhunt and a 12-hour standoff with police on a lonely clifftop in Sydney’s Blue Mountains.
Gaddie was located hanging to a barrier on a clifftop above a precipitous drop at Fletcher’s Lookout overlooking Wentworth Falls around 12.30pm on Tuesday, hours after an arrest warrant was issued for him.
Ms. Finlay-Jones, age 31, was discovered dead in the bedroom of a friend’s home in Cranebrook, a western suburb of Sydney, on Sunday, with severe head injuries.
Gaddie was interrogated overnight at the Katoomba police station, where an interim order to collect his DNA was issued.
Wednesday at Penrith Local Court, attorney Joseph Ormaechea rejected forensic experts’ request to collect a DNA sample at the police station.
Due to the “transient” nature of DNA, the prosecution emphasized the importance of collecting a swab.
Pictured: Specially trained police negotiators engaged Gaddie, who was perched on a clifftop at Fletcher’s Lookout (pictured taking a selfie at the same spot)
Specially skilled police negotiators engaged the suspected fugitive, who was perched atop a perilous clifftop at Fletcher’s Lookout, in negotiations on Tuesday in the Blue Mountains.
Ms. Finlay-Jones (pictured) was a support officer at the Department of Education of New South Wales.
Saturday night, Ms. Finlay-Jones allegedly met Gaddie at The Marsden Brewhouse in Marsden Park, after the two recently met online.
Gaddie did not attend in person or by video link, nor did he submit a bail application.
He was ordered to remain in jail until March 3, and a decision on the admissibility of the DNA swab was also postponed until that day.
Last night, police rescue officers, detectives, the riot squad, and a team of expert negotiators hurried to the Blue Mountains in an attempt to convince Gaddie to return to safety.
After a 12-hour standoff, he was ultimately apprehended shortly after midnight on Wednesday, as temperatures plummeted to single digits and the sky was crystal clear.
Ms. Finlay-Jones was an educator who actively participated in female football.
On his Tinder profile, Gaddie is wearing a singlet, shorts, and sunglasses while on a nature stroll.
Ashley Gaddie had been on the run for 48 hours until he was trapped by police on a clifftop in the Blue Mountains on Tuesday afternoon after a 12-hour standoff.
Ms Finlay-Jones, a beloved teacher and football coach who was slain, has received an increasing number of empathetic condolences from her loved ones.
Ms. Finlay-Jones was the senior vice president for women at the southern Sydney Ramsgate RSL Football Club.
The death announcement has left us all in a state of shock and disbelief.
“Danielle was a beautiful lady, a life member of the club who was loved and admired not just by our immediate football community, but also by the Football St. George association as a whole.”
Dannielle Finlay-Jones, 31, was discovered dead at a friend’s home in Cranebrook on Sunday, prompting a search for her suspected killer.
Tuesday afternoon, a police operation was launched in the Blue Mountains as a 12-hour standoff with Ashley Gaddie unfolded.
Her dedicated and selfless dedication to football in the community, especially women’s football, will be dearly missed, and her legacy will endure forever.
Our heartfelt sympathies are extended to her family, especially her mother Jacky.
Arncliffe Aurora FC paid tribute as well.
“Words simply fail. After the unfortunate passing of Dannielle Finlay-Jones, we at AAFC would like to send our heartfelt condolences to her family and friends during this difficult time. Especially to her mother Jacky, who must be facing challenges she never anticipated facing.
“May her soul rest in peace forever”
A gallery of photographs on Gaddie’s page depict the tradesman posing in hi-vis, kissing pets, and going on hikes.
On Monday, police tape was placed around a residence on Borrowdale Way in Cranebrook as homicide investigators investigated the death of Dannielle Finlay-Jones.
Gaddie claims under the ‘interests’ area that he enjoys sushi, travel, road trips, hiking, and the gym.
In one photograph, Gaddie can be seen taking a mirror selfie while wearing a light grey singlet and shorts inside an elevator.
Other photographs depict him working on a construction site while wearing protective gear, walking through nature, and taking a selfie with a waterfall in the background.
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Gaddie claims in the ‘interests’ part of his Tinder profile (above) that he enjoys sushi, travel, road trips, hiking, and the gym.
Ms. Finlay-Jones was an educator who actively participated in female football.
CHRONOLOGY OF EVENTS
Saturday night
Allegedly, Dannielle Finlay-Jones and Ashley Gaddie meet with her friends at The Marsden Brewhouse in Marsden Park.
She supposedly introduces him as her new boyfriend to her friends.
Sunday
1am-3am
Ms. Finlay-Jones and Gaddie allegedly return to her friend’s home in Cranebrook, approximately 20 kilometers distant.
2.30pm
Friends of Ms. Finlay-Jones discover her unresponsive at her Cranebrook residence and contact paramedics, who proclaim her dead at the site. According to the police, she may have been dead for up to eight hours.
Tuesday
9.30am
The police issue an alert requesting assistance in locating Gaddie, stating that a warrant has been issued for his arrest on suspicion of murder.
3pm
There are reports of a police operation in the Blue Mountains related to the search for Gaddie.
Gaddie is trapped atop a precipice.
Wednesday
12.30am
Police proclaim Gaddie was arrested and will be charged with murder shortly.
12.30pm:
The NSW Police announce Gaddie has been charged with murder after interrogating him for several hours tonight. He did not request bail and is scheduled to return to court in March.