A woman who is accused of creating a cemetery in a peaceful dog park to conceal the remains of her allegedly slain roommate insists she was not aware of the scheme to murder the mother-of-six.
On Monday, Jesse Desmond Jones appeared in Perth Magistrates Court to request release. At the hearing, her attorney argued that since she is only accused of having a minor hand in the death of Perth sex worker Nardia Louise Spice, she shouldn’t be imprisoned pending trial.
Before she was brutally murdered on September 23, police claim that Ms. Spice’s three roommates, a 24-year-old man, a couple named Eve Marsh and Zachariah Dean Brough, lured her to the Byford dog park under the guise of sex work.
In Jarrahdale, southwest of Perth, Jones, 26, is charged with aiding her roommates in burying the mother, 40, in the nearby wilderness along Ronan Road.
Ms. Spice was found with significant head injuries two weeks after she was allegedly killed, the court heard at Ms. Jones’ bail hearing.
The police suspect Ms. Spice’s suspected attackers hit her in the back of the head, tied her wrists together with wire ties, covered her in plastic, and deposited her in the trunk of a vehicle before driving 25 kilometers to her bush burial.
The scheme allegedly included premediation.
According to Jones’s attorney, Hamish Glenister, neither she nor the accused attacker knew that her roommate was being slain.
According to the accuser, Ms. Spice planned to perform sex acts in the dog park. She intended to provide her with transportation home, Mr. Glenister said in court.
When Ms Jones was allegedly instructed to go to a different site, the court heard that she was dozing off in her vehicle outside the dog park as she was waiting to pick up Ms Spice.
Ms. Jones states that when she got there, she saw Marsh, Brough, and the other suspect man dragging Ms. Spice’s corpse out of a car’s trunk and into a bush.
Following that, she reportedly received a warning to dig Ms Spice’s grave or face “the same,” according to Mr. Glenister, who claims she was’scared’ into taking part in the alleged murder.
Ms. Jones, who was born a man but identifies as a woman, faces danger while being detained in an all-male facility like Hakea Prison.
Mr. Glenister said she should be freed on bond because she had no past criminal history and would be at great danger as a transgender woman in custody.
The court was also informed that Ms. Jones, who is currently awaiting an appointment with a neurologist, has just been diagnosed with multiple sclerosis, an immune disorder that affects the protective coating of nerves.
In addition, Ms. Jones gave a statement to the police, took responsibility for allegedly excavating the grave, and agreed to testify for the prosecution, according to Mr. Glenister.
Since Ms. Jones was accused of a severe offense, police prosecutors opposed her release on bond.
There is no allegation that Ms. Jones touched or handled the corpse, but police claim she helped the co-accused and “knowingly sought to cover up evidence.”
A home detention report must be created, and Magistrate Kelly Thompson ordered the postponement of another bail hearing for two weeks.
She said that although she did not believe Ms. Jones had a small hand in the alleged murder, it is important to assess if she was coerced into taking part.