Regina v Suteski [No 5] [2002] NSWSC 227

New South Wales Supreme Court

CITATION : Regina v Suteski [No 5] [2002] NSWSC 227 CURRENT JURISDICTION: Criminal Division FILE NUMBER(S) : SC 70053/01 27/2/02 - 28/2/02 1/3/02 HEARING DATE(S) : 4/3/02 - 8/3/02 11/3/02 - 13/3/02 15/3/02 18/3/02 - 21/3/02 JUDGMENT DATE : 28 March 2002

PARTIES : Regina Sneza Suteski JUDGMENT OF : Kirby J

COUNSEL : M Tedeschi QC/Ms N Adams (Crown) P Byrne SC/R Nicol (Accused) SOLICITORS : S E O'Connor (Crown) R J Walsh, Murphy & Roskov (Accused) CATCHWORDS : Application for Verdict by Direction - Murder - Accessory before the fact and extended common purpose - Sufficiency of evidence CASES CITED : Regina v Chai [2000] NSWCCA 320 DECISION : Decision para 16

IN THE SUPREME COURT OF NEW SOUTH WALES CRIMINAL DIVISION

KIRBY J

Thursday 28 March 2002

70053/01 - REGINA v SNEZA SUTESKI

JUDGMENT [No 5] - Application for Verdict by Direction 1 KIRBY J: At the close of the Crown case, Mr Byrne SC, on behalf of the accused, made an application for a verdict by direction. I dismissed the application, ruling that there was evidence that could sustain the charge of murder. I undertook to give reasons later. I now do so.

The Crown Case 2 The accused worked as an Accounts Payable clerk for a car dealer, Newman's of Kogarah. The deceased (Mr Peich) was the accountant of that company, and Ms Suteski's immediate superior. Between August and December 1999, Ms Suteski defrauded her employer of a significant sum of money. She did so in a series of transactions where she diverted money from her employer's account into her own, or that of her brother or boyfriend. The accused, on the Crown case, believed that Mr Peich harboured suspicions about her. She was anxious to commit further frauds. She, therefore, arranged through the boyfriend of her hairdresser to have Mr Peich hurt. The person approached, who I shall refer to as Witness "B", a drug dealer, recruited another drug dealer, Witness "W", to carry out the task. On the night of 20 December 1999, Witness W repeatedly stabbed Mr Peich, who died almost at once.