Dad Talked Son Into Killing Grandfather

[bloodrayne]

Dad 'Got Son To Kill Grandpa'

Bexley, Australia - A man made a "pact" with his son to murder his elderly father so they could share in a $660,000 inheritance, the Supreme Court heard yesterday.

Michael Rex Clark, 44, is standing trial for murdering his father Ernest Dick Clark, 74, in April 2005.

Clark's son Ben, 23, has already pleaded guilty to the killing, admitting he fired two shots into his grandfather's forehead in the backyard of the victim's Bexley home.

In an opening to the jury yesterday, Crown prosecutor Mark Hobart argued Clark was also guilty of murder because he had plotted with his son to kill Mr Clark.

Mr Hobart alleged Clark "counselled" his son to shoot his father, who had been "spending large amounts of money" on his de facto wife Jessica Chung since moving in together in 2004.

Mr Clark had retired after selling his Granville-based refrigerator repair business worth $800,000 and was renovating his home and considering buying Ms Chung a fish and chip shop.

Clark, on a disability support pension, was unhappy about this and in a "bad financial situation" with more than $60,000 debt on two credit cards.

Mr Hobart said the "crux" of his case was based on evidence from police-tapped conversations in which Clark allegedly told his son Ben: "If they attach us together, we're fucked. It's easy for that slut now. Be strong in your guts, it's gonna be hard mate but you have to think in the long run."

Mr Hobart said Ben Clark later claimed he was provoked into killing Mr Clark because he had been "kicked" and "punched" as an apprentice at his grandfather's workshop.

Clark's lawyers say he was not involved in a "joint criminal enterprise", arguing the younger man shot him "off his own bat for his own reasons".

Clark's second wife Jennifer Ann Clark is also charged with hindering the police investigation.

The trial continues.