A MAGISTRATE will decide next week if the key witness to the alleged murder of a Tamworth environmental officer will be called to recount what unfolded near Moree last year when Glen Turner was shot dead.
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Ian Robert Turnbull, 81, is charged with the shooting murder of Mr Turner, a 51-year-old Office of Environment and Heritage (OEH) compliance officer, who died on July 29, 2014, after being shot several times.
On Tuesday, Moree Local Court was told the key witness, OEH officer, Robert Strange, had given up to six statements to police and had walked detectives through what happened on Talga Lane, near Croppa Creek, on the day in question.
But Turnbull's defence barrister, Todd Alexis, submitted an application for Mr Strange to be called to give evidence at a hearing to find out what unfolded during the encounter between Turnbull and the two OEH staff on the day of the alleged murder.
"It doesn't give the reader any understanding of Mr Turnbull's state of mind," Mr Alexis said of Mr Strange's police statements.
"The ultimate question was Mr Turnbull's demeanour." Magistrate Michael O'Brien questioned the application for the hearing, and said what unfolded on the day happened "unexpectedly."
"What can he say to offer further assistance?" he asked.
"He can only give evidence to what he sees and hears and he has already done that."
The defence said it is trying to establish if Turnbull, who appeared via video link in court from Long Bay Correctional Centre, had an abnormality of mind during the incident.
But DPP prosecutor Mark Dight questioned the need for a psychiatric evaluation and opposed the application for Mr Strange to be called.
"It's not just a simple 20 minute exercise, he is reliving it over and over again," he said.
Mr Alexis argued there were time inconsistencies in Mr Strange's police statements on how long the incident unfolded for and, he said, according to Mr Strange, Turnbull wasn't screaming or yelling but had a "level" voice.
"This case cries out for some explanation because of how Mr Turnbull lived his life previously," he said.
Under the legislation, the defence requires proof that the accused's capacity was impaired by an abnormality of mind because of an underlying condition, and the defence yesterday submitted finding that abnormality required expert evidence.
The court was told the defence wanted the witness account from Mr Strange, if it was granted, to be used as part of a psychiatric exam.
Magistrate O'Brien said he wanted time to examine the detail in the application and will hand down his decision next week.
Turnbull remains locked up on remand.
