“Where the f–k is the gun? It needs to be wiped clean before old mate comes.”
These words, blurted out in the moments after a fatal shooting, have now led to the conviction of a Tasmanian mother who intended to cover up evidence at the murder scene.
Stacey Dawn Maxwell, 47, has been found guilty of perverting the course of justice after a jury ruled she deliberately intended to hinder police investigations into the shooting death of a man at her home in January 2023.
The Supreme Court of Tasmania recently heard Maxwell was woken in the early hours by disturbances at her house, where her two adult sons and a friend were present.
Initially mistaking breaking glass for gunfire, she called emergency services in distress fearing her son may have been shot.
But while she was still on the phone to police, an actual fatal shooting took place on the property.
In the moments that followed, her comment about wiping the gun “clean” was recorded, revealing her intent to tamper with crucial evidence.
Justice Tamara Jago said Maxwell’s actions were driven by a misguided attempt to protect her son, fearing he could be blamed for the shooting.
“I am satisfied your behaviour was directed at preventing or hampering the police investigation,” Justice Jago said in her passing comments.
“By acting as you did, you potentially impacted the likelihood of a successful police investigation and therefore impacted the likelihood that persons responsible for the shooting would be brought to justice.”
The court established that Maxwell’s son had no involvement in the shooting and, despite her attempts to interfere with evidence, police successfully recovered forensic material from the firearm.
“There is nothing to suggest the firearm was, in fact, wiped down,” Justice Jago said.
“Attempting to destroy, tamper with or conceal evidence, in circumstances where a man had been shot and died, is a very serious matter.”
In addition to her comment about the firearm, Maxwell also hid her son’s mobile phone in a bedroom drawer, leading to a second charge of perverting the course of justice.
Justice Jago handed down a suspended seven-month prison sentence, noting Maxwell’s heightened emotional state at the time, along with her personal circumstances, including PTSD, depression, anxiety and narcolepsy.
