Nick Martin: Secret autobiography of sniper who shot bikie boss revealed as trial of alleged mastermind looms

The sniper who admitted to executing bikie boss Nick Martin has written an autobiography in prison — which is now under lock and key in the office of WA homicide detectives.

Lawyers for David Pye, the bikie rival who allegedly paid for the hit on Martin in December 2020, recently discovered the existence of the pages in preparation for his upcoming trial for the murder of Mr Martin.

Police and prison authorities have known about the writings since the middle of last year.

But its existence has only now been revealed in court, as defence lawyers seek permission to see and read the writings as part of their preparations for Mr Pye’s bombshell trial.

Summons have been issued to the Commissioner of Police and the Department of Justice seeking that the pages be disclosed.

However, WA’s Supreme Court was told that a claim of privilege had been made against the book, which may have to be determined by a court before it was handed over.

Until then, a lawyer for Police Commissioner Col Blanch said the original hard copy of the writings was being held in a safe in the homicide unit.

Preparation for Mr Pye’s trial continued in WA’s Supreme Court on Thursday. The court was also told that his defence team intends to apply for a judge to preside over the trial, which is scheduled to start in October.

That application is set to be formulated in the coming weeks.

And it is almost certain to contain arguments that the blanket coverage of Mr Martin’s murder and the arrest and conviction that followed would make an impartial jury almost impossible to find.

Arguments about prejudice against bikie gangs amongst the general population could also be made.

But before that, lawyers on all sides will continue to pore over tens of thousands of documents and terabytes of electronic material generated during the investigation into Mr Martin’s murder.

That includes audio from a tracking device placed in the car of a key witness.

Tensions between police and Mr Pye’s defence also emerged following the issuing of summonses to both WA Police and the AFP urging disclosure of various materials.

Aleksandra Miller from the State Solicitor’s Office said the summonses amounted to an abuse of process, were unnecessary and should not be allowed to continue without the permission of a judge.

However, defence lawyer Paul Holmes said that the autobiography was only discovered because of one such summons.

“We might never have found out about it otherwise,” he said.

Prosecutor Justin Whalley told the court that disclosure of their material was proceeding “methodically” and that police were “absolutely clear about the priority of this matter”, with the October starting date for the trial still viable.

He also said the DPP position on a judge-alone trial had not been fixed but “may not be an area of great argument”.

The trial will centre around allegations that Mr Pye was the mastermind behind the murder of Martin, allegedly hiring the shooter for $150,000.

During the sniper’s sentencing in 2021, it was revealed that Mr Pye claimed Martin had a hit out on him – so he allegedly wanted him dead first.

After being paid tens of thousands in cash up front, the sniper carried out reconnaissance on Mr Martin’s home and habit, even using a drone over his house.

He visited Kwinana Motorplex several times, scoping out the shot he intended to take. On December 12, 2020, he decided to take it.

He will be the key witness against Mr Pye.

Prosecutors will also allege that after Mr Martin died, Mr Pye offered the sniper a bigger bounty for another hit on another bikie leader — Ray Cilli. That hit was never carried out.

The case will return to court in August.