NSW: Bagsnatcher used money to buy heroin court told

AAP General News (Australia)
08-02-1999
NSW: Bagsnatcher used money to buy heroin court told

LISMORE, NSW, Aug 2 AAP - A woman charged with a weekend bag snatch in which an elderly
Goonellabah woman died had used the money to buy heroin in Nimbin, Lismore Local Court heard
today.

Kate Belinda Melville, 23, the daughter of a senior Queensland public servant, was charged
with murder and robbery after allegedly stealing Lorna Hennessey's purse in O'Meara's
Supermarket in Rous Road, Goonellabah, on Sunday.

She is also charged with stealing a wallet from a Lismore woman two days before the
Goonellabah theft.

The court heard she told police after her arrest that she and her co-accused, Gary Paul
Hacche, 24, had gone to the Goonellabah shopping centre with the intention of stealing money
to buy heroin.

Melville said she sought out a "soft target" to rob and chose Mrs Hennessey.

Mrs Hennessey, 81, collapsed and died outside the supermarket shortly after the 2pm robbery
while telling witnesses, including the co-accused Hacche, that she had been robbed.

After the robbery, Melville and Hacche are alleged to have hitchhiked to Nimbin where they
bought heroin. They were arrested that night outside Lismore Base Hospital.

Hacche, unemployed, of Lismore, was charged with being an accessory after the fact to
robbery and of concealing a serious offence.

Hacche allegedly told police he did not buy heroin with the money from the bag snatch.

During a bail application, Melville and Hacche's solicitor Tom Trembath said he was
"reasonably confident" that the murder charge against Melville would be amended because there
was nothing to connect the death of Mrs Hennessey with the actual robbery.

Police prosecutor Sgt Shane Davidson said bail for Melville should be refused because there
was no guarantee that Melville would not offend again.

Mr Trembath said that, despite Melville and Hacche already being on bail for prior matters,
they should be granted bail on the fresh charges otherwise they would be in custody for a
while before their matters were heard in the district or supreme court.

Police are waiting on a post mortem result on Mrs Hennessey but were reported today as
saying she died of a cardiac arrest.

The court heard that after Melville snatched the purse she ran into the nearby Video Ezy
store and took $150 out of the purse before hiding it behind some videos.

Magistrate Jeff Linden refused bail for the pair because of the serious nature of the
charges.

No plea has been entered to the charges. They will have their cases mentioned again in
court on August 17.

AAP sr/de (regdaily)

KEYWORD: BAGSNATCH LEAD

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