A mother and her son are accused of deliberately striking an Indigenous teen with their ute and leaving him to die by the side of a road south of Sydney in an act of retribution over past violence.
Jayden Walmsley-Hume, 20, and his mother Katie Walmsley, 40, are facing a four-week trial in the NSW Supreme Court and have pleaded not guilty to murdering Taj Jared Hart in Nowra on February 24, 2024.
Walmsley has also pleaded not guilty to an alternative charge of being an accessory after the fact by harbouring, maintaining or assisting her son knowing he had committed the murder.
Crown prosecutor Kate Ratcliffe told jurors on Wednesday that the pair saw the 18-year-old walking on the side of the road before Walmsley-Hume deliberately steered the white dual-cab ute towards him.
The vehicle mounted the curb and collided with the teen, pulling him underneath before they drove off, she told the jury.
"It was not a case of a loss of control," she told the Wollongong courtroom.
While witnesses attempted to aid Mr Hart, with a nurse giving CPR before paramedics arrived, his heart suffered severe injuries and he died shortly after, the jury heard.
Ms Ratcliffe said Walmsley-Hume drove at Mr Hart with an intention to kill or cause really serious injuries and that his mother as a passenger in the vehicle was part of a joint agreement to do so.
The Crown's motive for the murder is retaliation after a series of violent incidents between Walmsley-Hume and Mr Hart and a friend.
In 2018 after a falling out, Mr Hart and his friend emerged victorious in a punch-up against Walmsley-Hume, Ms Ratcliffe said.
This led to a series of escalating incidents culminating in an occasion one evening in January 7, 2022 when Walmsley-Hume and his father drove to Mr Hart's family home armed with weapons.
During that altercation, Mr Hart attacked Walmsley-Hume with a metal pole, fracturing his elbow.
He needed to have a metal plate and screws inserted days later in hospital.
“You’re gone,” Mr Hart's family allege that Walmsley-Hume said to the teen after the incident.
This serious injury caused both mother and son to seek retribution against Mr Hart, leading to the murder, Ms Ratcliffe said.
"(The murder) occurred after a build-up of extreme animosity and violent conduct by both accused towards Mr Hart and his mates,” she told the jury.
The collision itself was captured on the dashcam of a driver behind the ute.
Witnesses are expected to describe Mr Hart as trying but failing to get up off the ground after the impact and convulsing before his death, jurors heard.
Another witness who pulled up as the ute was waiting at an intersection after the alleged murder is expected to describe Walmsley-Hume as looking frantic and hyped up as he audibly discussed what had happened with his mother.
"We got him, we got him good," she allegedly said.
"We’ve got to get the f*** out of here," he allegedly replied.
Police investigators used CCTV footage to track the ute's movements that day as it was driven from a residence in Currarong where both accused lived to collide with Mr Hart and then return.
The trial with Justice Robertson Wright continues on Thursday.
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