Details of Facebook messages sent by a female prison guard accused of masterminding the attempted murder of her husband have emerged as she failed in her bid to be released on bail.
Subscribe now for unlimited access.
$0/
(min cost $0)
or signup to continue reading
Sharon Joan Yarnton, 48, appeared in the Supreme Court on Thursday via video link from Silverwater women's jail where she is being held in segregation due to her former occupation as a senior corrective services officer.
The Crown says Mrs Yarnton was driving her husband Dean Yarnton home from the Merrylands Bowling Club, in Sydney's west in the early hours of February 1 this year when he fell asleep.
Some time later he woke up alone inside the passenger seat of his Nissan Navara in the Georges River National Park at Picnic Point and found a gas bottle placed inside the car and fuel poured around the outside. His feet were wet. There was a second nine-kilogram gas bottle near the car's petrol tank.
Mr Yarnton, who is also a prison officer, said to his wife, who was nearby, "What the f--- is going on?"
An argument ensued with Mrs Yarnton and he called triple 0. She was arrested and charged.
Two witnesses noticed the strong smell of fuel and stopped to see what was going on. Mrs Yarnton allegedly told them, "He choked me - I've been in a 25-year abusive relationship and I've had enough."
Justice Peter Hamill was told in the hours before the incident, Mrs Yarnton sent Facebook messages to Monique Hayes, 23, that said: "Hey, where are they?", "No one is here" and "Tell him now".
Ms Hayes replies including, "Work, I'm sure, why is everything OK?" and "delete everything".
Mrs Yarnton's solicitor Winston Terracini SC said the case against his client is "entirely circumstantial" and "not strong" and the messages are capable of many interpretations
The court heard it is possible Ms Hayes, who is also charged with attempted murder, will turn Crown witness and give evidence against Mrs Yarnton.
Mr Terracini said in that case, the Crown case will rely on Ms Hayes' account of what the messages mean.
Ms Hayes was granted conditional bail last month, with a court hearing she had made partial admissions to police.
In refusing bail, Justice Hamill said he accepted Mrs Yarnton is being kept in isolation in prison, that she has no previous criminal convictions and has very strong family and community ties.
He accepted she was unable to use the family home she shared with her husband as security and her parents' home was held on trust. A family friend had offered to deposit $20,000 surety.
But Justice Hamill said on its face, it appeared to be a strong prosecution case and she had not "shown cause" as to why her detention was unjustified.
The Crown case is the Yarntons were in a long-term dysfunctional relationship on the verge of breaking up, with Mrs Yarnton claiming she had been ill-treated for many years.
She allegedly employed Fady Houda, 22, to arrange for her husband to be killed and a specific plan was hatched for him to be incinerated or poisoned by gas inside a car.
Ms Hayes allegedly put Ms Yarnton in contact with Mr Houda, who is also charged with attempted murder.
The court heard CCTV footage from a service station at Bass HIll shows Mr Houda purchasing a gas cylinder at 10.40pm on January 31. An employee saw Mr Houda leave with two cylinders.
Ms Yarnton will reappear in Burwood Local Court next month.
