Gerard Baden-Clay’s bid for bail on murder charge is heard in Brisbane’s …

Olivia Walton at court

Olivia Walton arrives at Brisbane Supreme Court to support her brother Gerard Baden-Clay’s bail application.
Source: The Courier-Mail


Supreme Court evacuation

Brisbane’s Supreme Court evacuated in security scare, interrupting Gerard Baden-Clay bail hearing. Pic: Jodie Richter
Source: The Courier-Mail




THE Supreme Court building has been cleared following a security threat just minutes into the bail hearing of accused killer Gerard Baden-Clay.


Baden-Clay was not at the hearing, but his sister Olivia Walton and a friend were in the front row of the public gallery.

Baden-Clay is charged with the murder of his wife Allison at their Brookfield home on April 20 and interfering with her corpse at Kholo Creek on the same night.

Justice Glenn Martin asked his bailiff to clear the court as Peter Davis SC, appearing for Baden-Clay, began his address.

Those in the packed court room were directed out the fire stairs and onto the street.

Before the security scare, Mr Davis had been responding to a police affidavit which detailed why the prosecution said Baden-Clay should not be granted bail.

“An examination of it will demonstrate the weakness of the case against my client,” he said.

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Gerard Baden-Clay






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“(And) the extraordinary nature of some of the allegations being made.”

Mr Davis said police had identified Baden-Clay as a “person of interest” to the media just three days after Allison disappeared and was in the process of tendering The Courier-Mail articles when the hearing was shut down.

The entire Supreme Court building and courtyard is being evacuated and security alarms are sounding with police arriving to check the building.

Justice Paul de Jersey said sniffer dogs might have be brought in following an emergency evacuation at the Supreme Court building, but it’s unclear what the nature of the threat was.

Supreme Court evacuation



“It’s absolutely disgraceful, if this is a hoax, that the proceedings of the state’s highest court can be disrupted in this dreadful way,” Justice de Jersey said.

“So much disruption, not only to proceedings but to the general public as well and we can only hope that this is resolved quickly.”

When asked about the nature of the threat, Justice de Jersey said: “That’s all I can say, I’m sorry.”

Justice de Jersey said the courts could never give in to such threats.

The chief justice and Judge Administrator John Byrne spoke with security staff before fronting the media on the footpath outside the courts.

Sniffer dogs are on their way to make a sweep of the building.

Supreme Court evacuation



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