Retrial ordered over alleged unprovoked servo attack
Troy Maskell was in 2023 found guilty of manslaughter over the death of John Burke at a Strathmerton service station in northern Victoria.
It was alleged he attacked Mr Burke on August 8, 2021, by hitting him over the head with a one-litre bottle and kicking him on a hard tile floor.
During the trial, the court was told the 73-year-old local postmaster had smiled at Maskell's girlfriend and daughter as they entered the servo.
The woman then wrongly accused Mr Burke of being a pedophile, before the alleged attack occurred.
Mr Burke died in hospital 11 weeks after the attack due to a brain injury.
Maskell was sentenced to eight years in prison with a non-parole period of five years.
He lodged an appeal against his conviction in February 2024, claiming there was a substantial miscarriage of justice.
Victorian Court of Appeal Justices Karin Emerton, Maree Kennedy and Peter Kidd on Friday ruled in Maskell's favour, ordering his conviction be set aside.
The court allowed the appeal on one issue relating to the CCTV shown to the jury during the trial, where Maskell demanded the service station attendant "wipe the tape" following the alleged assault.
Maskell's lawyers argued the footage allowed the jury to make assumptions about his mindset at the time of the alleged attack.
"This invited incriminating conduct reasoning," the judgment read.
"It was inadmissible and introduced in non-compliance with the Jury Directions Act."
CCTV footage of the accused driving into the petrol station before the alleged assault and out of the service station after was also flagged as "irrelevant" by the court.
The justices found the footage of the arrival and departure should have been excluded as his actions in that moment were not in practical dispute.
The court ruled that there had been a substantial miscarriage of justice and Maskell's conviction be set aside and a fresh trial ordered.
The justices dismissed the other two grounds for appeal.
Maskell will return to court in August.
A man accused of launching an unprovoked attack on a beloved postmaster at a service station has been granted a retrial.
Troy Maskell was in 2023 found guilty of manslaughter over the death of John Burke at a Strathmerton service station in northern Victoria.
It was alleged he attacked Mr Burke on August 8, 2021, by hitting him over the head with a one-litre bottle and kicking him on a hard tile floor.
During the trial, the court was told the 73-year-old local postmaster had smiled at Maskell's girlfriend and daughter as they entered the servo.
The woman then wrongly accused Mr Burke of being a pedophile, before the alleged attack occurred.
Mr Burke died in hospital 11 weeks after the attack due to a brain injury.
Maskell was sentenced to eight years in prison with a non-parole period of five years.
He lodged an appeal against his conviction in February 2024, claiming there was a substantial miscarriage of justice.
Victorian Court of Appeal Justices Karin Emerton, Maree Kennedy and Peter Kidd on Friday ruled in Maskell's favour, ordering his conviction be set aside.
The court allowed the appeal on one issue relating to the CCTV shown to the jury during the trial, where Maskell demanded the service station attendant "wipe the tape" following the alleged assault.
Maskell's lawyers argued the footage allowed the jury to make assumptions about his mindset at the time of the alleged attack.
"This invited incriminating conduct reasoning," the judgment read.
"It was inadmissible and introduced in non-compliance with the Jury Directions Act."
CCTV footage of the accused driving into the petrol station before the alleged assault and out of the service station after was also flagged as "irrelevant" by the court.
The justices found the footage of the arrival and departure should have been excluded as his actions in that moment were not in practical dispute.
The court ruled that there had been a substantial miscarriage of justice and Maskell's conviction be set aside and a fresh trial ordered.
The justices dismissed the other two grounds for appeal.
Maskell will return to court in August.
A man accused of launching an unprovoked attack on a beloved postmaster at a service station has been granted a retrial.
Troy Maskell was in 2023 found guilty of manslaughter over the death of John Burke at a Strathmerton service station in northern Victoria.
It was alleged he attacked Mr Burke on August 8, 2021, by hitting him over the head with a one-litre bottle and kicking him on a hard tile floor.
During the trial, the court was told the 73-year-old local postmaster had smiled at Maskell's girlfriend and daughter as they entered the servo.
The woman then wrongly accused Mr Burke of being a pedophile, before the alleged attack occurred.
Mr Burke died in hospital 11 weeks after the attack due to a brain injury.
Maskell was sentenced to eight years in prison with a non-parole period of five years.
He lodged an appeal against his conviction in February 2024, claiming there was a substantial miscarriage of justice.
Victorian Court of Appeal Justices Karin Emerton, Maree Kennedy and Peter Kidd on Friday ruled in Maskell's favour, ordering his conviction be set aside.
The court allowed the appeal on one issue relating to the CCTV shown to the jury during the trial, where Maskell demanded the service station attendant "wipe the tape" following the alleged assault.
Maskell's lawyers argued the footage allowed the jury to make assumptions about his mindset at the time of the alleged attack.
"This invited incriminating conduct reasoning," the judgment read.
"It was inadmissible and introduced in non-compliance with the Jury Directions Act."
CCTV footage of the accused driving into the petrol station before the alleged assault and out of the service station after was also flagged as "irrelevant" by the court.
The justices found the footage of the arrival and departure should have been excluded as his actions in that moment were not in practical dispute.
The court ruled that there had been a substantial miscarriage of justice and Maskell's conviction be set aside and a fresh trial ordered.
The justices dismissed the other two grounds for appeal.
Maskell will return to court in August.
A man accused of launching an unprovoked attack on a beloved postmaster at a service station has been granted a retrial.
Troy Maskell was in 2023 found guilty of manslaughter over the death of John Burke at a Strathmerton service station in northern Victoria.
It was alleged he attacked Mr Burke on August 8, 2021, by hitting him over the head with a one-litre bottle and kicking him on a hard tile floor.
During the trial, the court was told the 73-year-old local postmaster had smiled at Maskell's girlfriend and daughter as they entered the servo.
The woman then wrongly accused Mr Burke of being a pedophile, before the alleged attack occurred.
Mr Burke died in hospital 11 weeks after the attack due to a brain injury.
Maskell was sentenced to eight years in prison with a non-parole period of five years.
He lodged an appeal against his conviction in February 2024, claiming there was a substantial miscarriage of justice.
Victorian Court of Appeal Justices Karin Emerton, Maree Kennedy and Peter Kidd on Friday ruled in Maskell's favour, ordering his conviction be set aside.
The court allowed the appeal on one issue relating to the CCTV shown to the jury during the trial, where Maskell demanded the service station attendant "wipe the tape" following the alleged assault.
Maskell's lawyers argued the footage allowed the jury to make assumptions about his mindset at the time of the alleged attack.
"This invited incriminating conduct reasoning," the judgment read.
"It was inadmissible and introduced in non-compliance with the Jury Directions Act."
CCTV footage of the accused driving into the petrol station before the alleged assault and out of the service station after was also flagged as "irrelevant" by the court.
The justices found the footage of the arrival and departure should have been excluded as his actions in that moment were not in practical dispute.
The court ruled that there had been a substantial miscarriage of justice and Maskell's conviction be set aside and a fresh trial ordered.
The justices dismissed the other two grounds for appeal.
Maskell will return to court in August.
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ABC News
2 days ago
- ABC News
Court quashes Troy Matthew Maskell's manslaughter conviction and orders retrial
An appeals court has ordered the retrial of a man convicted of manslaughter over the death of a postmaster in northern Victoria in 2021. In December 2023, Numurkah man Troy Matthew Maskell was sentenced to eight years' jail with a five-year non-parole period, after a jury found him guilty of causing the death of 73-year-old Strathmerton postmaster John Burke. It is alleged Mr Maskell, now aged 46, threw a 1-litre sports drink bottle towards Mr Burke and then kicked him on the ground at a Strathmerton service station in northern Victoria in August 2021. Mr Burke died in hospital in October that year, as a result of head trauma and a pelvis fracture. The jury in the original trial heard the incident occurred after Mr Burke verbally greeted Mr Maskell's daughter at the service station. The court heard Mr Maskell's partner, who was also at the service station, took offence to that. Mr Maskell appealed his conviction in February 2024, claiming a substantial miscarriage of justice. On Friday, the Victorian Court of Appeal ruled in his favour, ordering that his conviction be set aside and a new trial take place. Justices Karin Emerton, Maree Kennedy and Peter Kidd upheld one of Mr Maskell's three grounds for appeal. Mr Maskell's appeal related to two pieces of evidence heard during the trial, including a demand he allegedly made for a service station attendant to "wipe the tape" immediately after the incident. The other piece of evidence was security camera footage showing Mr Maskell driving into the service station before the incident, and out of the station afterwards. The appellant judges found Mr Maskell's demand that the attendant "wipe the footage" was inadmissible evidence. In their decision, the judges said there was a real risk that the jury could have used this evidence as an implied admission that Mr Maskell threw the sports drink bottle directly at Mr Burke, as opposed to in his general direction. A dangerous act is an element that must be proven in a manslaughter trial. "Proving that the applicant threw the bottle directly at Mr Burke's head was an essential stepping stone in the prosecution's case towards dangerousness," the judges said in their appeal decision. The judges said overall, the probative value of the demand to wipe the tape evidence was very low. The judges found that the security footage of Mr Maskell's arrival and departure at the station was irrelevant and did not go to any issue in practical dispute. They ruled a substantial miscarriage of justice had occurred and quashed his conviction. Mr Maskell's two other grounds of appeal were dismissed. The matter will return to the Supreme Court in Melbourne on August 6.
The Advertiser
5 days ago
- The Advertiser
Retrial ordered over alleged unprovoked servo attack
A man accused of launching an unprovoked attack on a beloved postmaster at a service station has been granted a retrial. Troy Maskell was in 2023 found guilty of manslaughter over the death of John Burke at a Strathmerton service station in northern Victoria. It was alleged he attacked Mr Burke on August 8, 2021, by hitting him over the head with a one-litre bottle and kicking him on a hard tile floor. During the trial, the court was told the 73-year-old local postmaster had smiled at Maskell's girlfriend and daughter as they entered the servo. The woman then wrongly accused Mr Burke of being a pedophile, before the alleged attack occurred. Mr Burke died in hospital 11 weeks after the attack due to a brain injury. Maskell was sentenced to eight years in prison with a non-parole period of five years. He lodged an appeal against his conviction in February 2024, claiming there was a substantial miscarriage of justice. Victorian Court of Appeal Justices Karin Emerton, Maree Kennedy and Peter Kidd on Friday ruled in Maskell's favour, ordering his conviction be set aside. The court allowed the appeal on one issue relating to the CCTV shown to the jury during the trial, where Maskell demanded the service station attendant "wipe the tape" following the alleged assault. Maskell's lawyers argued the footage allowed the jury to make assumptions about his mindset at the time of the alleged attack. "This invited incriminating conduct reasoning," the judgment read. "It was inadmissible and introduced in non-compliance with the Jury Directions Act." CCTV footage of the accused driving into the petrol station before the alleged assault and out of the service station after was also flagged as "irrelevant" by the court. The justices found the footage of the arrival and departure should have been excluded as his actions in that moment were not in practical dispute. The court ruled that there had been a substantial miscarriage of justice and Maskell's conviction be set aside and a fresh trial ordered. The justices dismissed the other two grounds for appeal. Maskell will return to court in August. A man accused of launching an unprovoked attack on a beloved postmaster at a service station has been granted a retrial. Troy Maskell was in 2023 found guilty of manslaughter over the death of John Burke at a Strathmerton service station in northern Victoria. It was alleged he attacked Mr Burke on August 8, 2021, by hitting him over the head with a one-litre bottle and kicking him on a hard tile floor. During the trial, the court was told the 73-year-old local postmaster had smiled at Maskell's girlfriend and daughter as they entered the servo. The woman then wrongly accused Mr Burke of being a pedophile, before the alleged attack occurred. Mr Burke died in hospital 11 weeks after the attack due to a brain injury. Maskell was sentenced to eight years in prison with a non-parole period of five years. He lodged an appeal against his conviction in February 2024, claiming there was a substantial miscarriage of justice. Victorian Court of Appeal Justices Karin Emerton, Maree Kennedy and Peter Kidd on Friday ruled in Maskell's favour, ordering his conviction be set aside. The court allowed the appeal on one issue relating to the CCTV shown to the jury during the trial, where Maskell demanded the service station attendant "wipe the tape" following the alleged assault. Maskell's lawyers argued the footage allowed the jury to make assumptions about his mindset at the time of the alleged attack. "This invited incriminating conduct reasoning," the judgment read. "It was inadmissible and introduced in non-compliance with the Jury Directions Act." CCTV footage of the accused driving into the petrol station before the alleged assault and out of the service station after was also flagged as "irrelevant" by the court. The justices found the footage of the arrival and departure should have been excluded as his actions in that moment were not in practical dispute. The court ruled that there had been a substantial miscarriage of justice and Maskell's conviction be set aside and a fresh trial ordered. The justices dismissed the other two grounds for appeal. Maskell will return to court in August. A man accused of launching an unprovoked attack on a beloved postmaster at a service station has been granted a retrial. Troy Maskell was in 2023 found guilty of manslaughter over the death of John Burke at a Strathmerton service station in northern Victoria. It was alleged he attacked Mr Burke on August 8, 2021, by hitting him over the head with a one-litre bottle and kicking him on a hard tile floor. During the trial, the court was told the 73-year-old local postmaster had smiled at Maskell's girlfriend and daughter as they entered the servo. The woman then wrongly accused Mr Burke of being a pedophile, before the alleged attack occurred. Mr Burke died in hospital 11 weeks after the attack due to a brain injury. Maskell was sentenced to eight years in prison with a non-parole period of five years. He lodged an appeal against his conviction in February 2024, claiming there was a substantial miscarriage of justice. Victorian Court of Appeal Justices Karin Emerton, Maree Kennedy and Peter Kidd on Friday ruled in Maskell's favour, ordering his conviction be set aside. The court allowed the appeal on one issue relating to the CCTV shown to the jury during the trial, where Maskell demanded the service station attendant "wipe the tape" following the alleged assault. Maskell's lawyers argued the footage allowed the jury to make assumptions about his mindset at the time of the alleged attack. "This invited incriminating conduct reasoning," the judgment read. "It was inadmissible and introduced in non-compliance with the Jury Directions Act." CCTV footage of the accused driving into the petrol station before the alleged assault and out of the service station after was also flagged as "irrelevant" by the court. The justices found the footage of the arrival and departure should have been excluded as his actions in that moment were not in practical dispute. The court ruled that there had been a substantial miscarriage of justice and Maskell's conviction be set aside and a fresh trial ordered. The justices dismissed the other two grounds for appeal. Maskell will return to court in August. A man accused of launching an unprovoked attack on a beloved postmaster at a service station has been granted a retrial. Troy Maskell was in 2023 found guilty of manslaughter over the death of John Burke at a Strathmerton service station in northern Victoria. It was alleged he attacked Mr Burke on August 8, 2021, by hitting him over the head with a one-litre bottle and kicking him on a hard tile floor. During the trial, the court was told the 73-year-old local postmaster had smiled at Maskell's girlfriend and daughter as they entered the servo. The woman then wrongly accused Mr Burke of being a pedophile, before the alleged attack occurred. Mr Burke died in hospital 11 weeks after the attack due to a brain injury. Maskell was sentenced to eight years in prison with a non-parole period of five years. He lodged an appeal against his conviction in February 2024, claiming there was a substantial miscarriage of justice. Victorian Court of Appeal Justices Karin Emerton, Maree Kennedy and Peter Kidd on Friday ruled in Maskell's favour, ordering his conviction be set aside. The court allowed the appeal on one issue relating to the CCTV shown to the jury during the trial, where Maskell demanded the service station attendant "wipe the tape" following the alleged assault. Maskell's lawyers argued the footage allowed the jury to make assumptions about his mindset at the time of the alleged attack. "This invited incriminating conduct reasoning," the judgment read. "It was inadmissible and introduced in non-compliance with the Jury Directions Act." CCTV footage of the accused driving into the petrol station before the alleged assault and out of the service station after was also flagged as "irrelevant" by the court. The justices found the footage of the arrival and departure should have been excluded as his actions in that moment were not in practical dispute. The court ruled that there had been a substantial miscarriage of justice and Maskell's conviction be set aside and a fresh trial ordered. The justices dismissed the other two grounds for appeal. Maskell will return to court in August.
Perth Now
5 days ago
- Perth Now
Retrial ordered over alleged unprovoked servo attack
A man accused of launching an unprovoked attack on a beloved postmaster at a service station has been granted a retrial. Troy Maskell was in 2023 found guilty of manslaughter over the death of John Burke at a Strathmerton service station in northern Victoria. It was alleged he attacked Mr Burke on August 8, 2021, by hitting him over the head with a one-litre bottle and kicking him on a hard tile floor. During the trial, the court was told the 73-year-old local postmaster had smiled at Maskell's girlfriend and daughter as they entered the servo. The woman then wrongly accused Mr Burke of being a pedophile, before the alleged attack occurred. Mr Burke died in hospital 11 weeks after the attack due to a brain injury. Maskell was sentenced to eight years in prison with a non-parole period of five years. He lodged an appeal against his conviction in February 2024, claiming there was a substantial miscarriage of justice. Victorian Court of Appeal Justices Karin Emerton, Maree Kennedy and Peter Kidd on Friday ruled in Maskell's favour, ordering his conviction be set aside. The court allowed the appeal on one issue relating to the CCTV shown to the jury during the trial, where Maskell demanded the service station attendant "wipe the tape" following the alleged assault. Maskell's lawyers argued the footage allowed the jury to make assumptions about his mindset at the time of the alleged attack. "This invited incriminating conduct reasoning," the judgment read. "It was inadmissible and introduced in non-compliance with the Jury Directions Act." CCTV footage of the accused driving into the petrol station before the alleged assault and out of the service station after was also flagged as "irrelevant" by the court. The justices found the footage of the arrival and departure should have been excluded as his actions in that moment were not in practical dispute. The court ruled that there had been a substantial miscarriage of justice and Maskell's conviction be set aside and a fresh trial ordered. The justices dismissed the other two grounds for appeal. Maskell will return to court in August.
