Death crash deliberate, says Crown

Murder accused Tony Worrell. Photo / Greg Bowker

As newlywed Katie Powles was dying in her car, the man accused of murdering her by deliberately driving into her was in his own crashed vehicle with a open bottle of beer sitting upright between his legs, a court has heard.

Mrs Powles, 26, was driving home from work on June 3, 2008 on Linwood Rd, Karaka, when Tony Allan Worrell, 50, allegedly "ploughed" into her and killed her.

Seconds before the fatal collision Worrell is alleged to have driven straight into a Fiat Uno driven by Karaka man Brett Robinson who was taking his young sons home from football training.

Worrell had already driven straight at four separate cars on that stretch of road, all of them being forced to take evasive action to avoid him, prosecutor Kirsten Gray said.

Worrell denies the murder charge, one charge of causing grievous bodily harm to Mr Robinson and four counts of attempting to cause intentional damage.

Ms Gray said Worrell was no stranger to suicide attempts. "It appeared the accused had wanted to end his own life that night."

Hours before the crash he had been brought home from hospital by his estranged wife, Lynette Worrell, where he had been hospitalised from mixing alcohol and a drug.

There had also been previous suicide attempts.

Mrs Worrell went to an appointment and returned home and found him intoxicated. She said he'd had a problem with alcohol throughout their marriage and told him he had to leave by the end of the week. However he packed his bags and drove off, saying she would be "better off without him".

He called her about 15 minutes later from a service station. "He said he was looking for a big, big .. I said 'what steak or sandwich' because he was asking about his insulin. He ended the sentence with semi, which I assumed meant a semi-trailer."

After leaving there, Worrell drove along Linwood Rd crossing the centre line four times and making no attempt to swerve, Mrs Gray said.

"Each of these four drivers managed to avoid being hit by the accused but you'll hear that Brett Robinson wasn't so lucky."

Worrell collided head-on with Mr Robinson's car, causing it to roll and land on its side in a ditch.

Ms Gray said Mr Robinson remembered thinking "he's heading straight for me" before the impact.

Mrs Powles, who was on her way home from work, was driving behind Mr Robinson.

After "ploughing" into her car, the crash scene was "complete carnage" with "bits of car and bits of metal strewn everywhere and horrific damage to three cars."

Emergency services found Mrs Powles with her legs trapped and unconscious. She died a few hours later in hospital.

Ms Gray said Worrell smelt strongly of alcohol and had an open bottle of beer sitting upright between his legs.

His lawyer Matthew Goodwin said Mrs Powles' death was "tragic" but his client had not set out to intentionally hit the four cars, Mr Robinson's or Mrs Powles'.

The Crown would not be able to prove culpable homicide or murderous intent.

Mr Goodwin said Worrell "did not mean to kill Katie Powles" and jurors would need to be convinced about the role alcohol played in his decision-making that night.