Neil Mellon: Decorated veteran cop jailed after Outback Wrangler helicopter crash exposed string of offences

A decorated veteran cop — arrested over the fatal chopper crash that killed Netflix star Chris Wilson — has been jailed for a spate of serious offences including destroying a dead friend’s phone and providing confidential information about a domestic violence case.

Former Northern Territory Police officer Neil Ryan Mellon was jailed last week after being handed an eight-month sentence, suspended after three months, and a $3050 fine.

Judge Tanya Fong Lim has since released the Statement of Facts, which contains explosive revelations about what happened at the helicopter crash site and Mellon’s repeated offending in the months following the tragedy.

Wilson — who starred on reality television shows including Outback Wrangler and Wild Croc Territory — was killed when the chopper he was slinging beneath crashed in a remote part of West Arnhem Land during a crocodile egg collecting mission in February 2022.

The destroyed Robinson R44 Raven II, registered VH-IDW, was owned and operated by Matt Wright’s company Helibrook and contracted to Mick Burns’ company Wildlife Harvesting NT.

It was being flown by Sebastian Robinson who suffered severe spinal injuries and is now paraplegic.

Mellon’s co-offender Michael Keith Burbidge, who was flying another helicopter on the egg collecting mission, located the wreckage of VH-IDW, Wilson deceased and the critically injured pilot at 10.36am.

Later that morning Mellon, who was off-duty, became aware of the crash and flew to the site with Mr Burns and Mr Wright.

“The defendant attended the crash scene of his own volition. He was not directed there in any official police capacity,” court documents state.

“Having assessed the crash site, the defendant immediately established a crime scene and began taking charge of securing relevant evidence.

“The defendant decided to place the deceased in a body bag. The defendant seized and secured a pistol from the right-hand hip of Wilson. The defendant unzipped the top pocket of the vest of Wilson and removed a mobile phone belonging to Wilson.”

At this time, Mellon heard Burbidge say words to the effect of: “Dani does not need to see what is on that phone”.

“Burns also confirmed Burbidge’s assertion that the phone contained information that didn’t need to be known,” the facts state.

Mellon then handed the phone to Burbidge, who — unbeknown to Mellon — threw it into the ocean that afternoon.

While at the scene, Mellon took photos, measured distances between the deceased and the helicopter, made observations and took recordings.

“While doing this, he noted that Burbidge, Wright and (pilot Jock) Purcell had unscrewed and lifted the console from within the aircraft and he heard someone say words to the effect ‘Yep, it’s plugged in’,” the documents state.

The Nightly understands this refers to the helicopter’s Hobbs meter, which measures the time that an aircraft is in use.

That afternoon Mellon flew back to Darwin in Burbidge’s helicopter to inform Wilson’s widow Danielle about the circumstances of the crash.

A couple of days later, on March 2, Mellon provided a statement to detectives investigating the crash but did not mention Wilson’s phone or what had occurred with the helicopter’s console.

In July 2022, Mellon asked Burbidge “Is that phone retrievable?” to which Burbidge responded, “It’s gone”.

Mellon replied: “It’s gone? Can we get it?”

Burbidge then disclosed “It’s in the ocean”.

Realising it was crucial evidence, the veteran cop responded: “Are you fucking kidding me?”

The following month, in August 2022, the acting senior sergeant was arrested one morning as he arrived at work.

The experienced police officer, who had spent 17 years in the Territory Response Group, was the Northern Watch Commander at the time.

The 47-year-old, who had joined the NT Police in 1995, was charged with dozens of offences.

The most serious — conspiracy to pervert the course of justice and the destruction of evidence — related to the police investigation into the fatal helicopter crash.

After his arrest, Mellon told police what he had done with the phone and what he had omitted in his first statement.

“Unknown to the defendant was that Burbidge, in a later record of interview to police, stated that he really had no foundation in which to believe that the deceased had engaged in affairs, or had material relevant to having engaged in affairs, that he expected to find on Wilson’s phone.”

In December, Mellon pleaded guilty to destroying evidence.

Mellon’s barrister Sally Ozolins argued her client was less culpable for this offence because he did not destroy the phone himself.

But senior crown prosecutor Steve Ledek submitted Mellon was more culpable because he was a police officer and knew that the phone could contain relevant data for any investigation into the crash.

During sentencing, Judge Fong Lim said handing the phone to Burbidge, knowing that data or the phone itself might be destroyed, was “not an action which you would expect of a senior police officer whose apparent motivation was to preserve the scene”.

“The cavalier approach the defendant took to handing over pieces of evidence at the crime scene cannot be explained by his emotional state at the time,” she said.

“These are the actions of someone who is being less than honest in a police investigation.

“Only when he knew he was in trouble, (did) he decide to disclose his involvement.”

Mellon also pleaded guilty to a raft of other offences that occurred in 2022 between the February helicopter crash and his August arrest. They include six counts of Disclosure of Confidential Information.

The first incident occurred on May 9, 2022, after he received a text message from Mr Wright, asking about a domestic violence incident police had responded to the previous day.

“One of the parties involved in the incident was a former employee of Wright,” the facts state.

“The defendant made enquiries within his social network to obtain contact phone numbers for both parties to the incident.”

Mellon then called each of the parties to the incident, identified himself as a police officer and questioned them about it.

He also phoned a colleague, who was of a lower rank, to obtain information about the incident.

“At 6.54pm the defendant telephoned Wright and disclosed confidential information he had obtained … regarding the incident,” court documents state.

“The information disclosed included the contents of police alerts, actions taken by police, the issuing of a DVO and the detention of an individual for a mental health assessment.

“The defendant intentionally disclosed confidential information concerning persons involved in a domestic violence incident to Wright who had no authority or lawful reason to receive information concerning NT Police operations.”

On separate occasions, Mellon provided confidential information about individuals and police investigations to friends and associates including Kevin Quinlan, Stephan Jose and Michael Lymberis.

“The facts show he was a senior police officer who did not think the law applied to him,” Judge Fong Lim said during sentencing.

“He was willing to do favours for friends without a mind for the consequences for others and he was willing to use his rank and friendships to his own advantage.

“The disclosure of information in a domestic violence matter, not knowing what that information would be used for, may well have created risk for a victim or a protected person of domestic violence.”

Mellon pleaded guilty to obtaining a benefit by deception after asking a friend and colleague, Senior Constable First Class Karl Bauman, to backdate police training records to show that he was current in his Defensive Tactics qualification when he wasn’t so that he could apply for a promotion.

“The defendant did not ultimately achieve that promotion because of an anomaly that related to the imputation of the police record, provided by Bauman, was detected and his later arrest and prosecution,” the facts state.

Judge Fong Lim said Mellon “not only put his friend at risk of criminal prosecution but also put him at risk of demotion, which in fact occurred”.

“The defendant had little regard for that person’s future. Only of his own selfish gain,” she said.

As a result of the forgery, Sen-Const Bauman was charged with obtaining benefit by deception but the case was later withdrawn with the decorated officer being disciplined instead.

Mellon also pleaded guilty to a raft of weapons, firearms and wildlife offences, including the possession of saltwater crocodile skulls without a valid permit, which stemmed from a search executed on his Darwin home and workplace locker.

“Again this proves the defendant is a man who thought he was above the law,” Judge Fong Lim said.

“It is my view he’s allowed the power of being a senior police officer to go to his head.”

Mr Mellon is due for release from prison in October and will be subject to a 12-month good behaviour bond.

Burbidge, Mellon’s co-accused, was recently convicted and fined $15,000 for destroying Wilson’s phone. The Director of Public Prosecutions has since launched an appeal of Burbidge’s sentence on the grounds it is “manifestly inadequate”.

Mr Wright declined to comment on Thursday when asked about his request to Mellon for confidential information and alleged tampering with the helicopter’s console at the crash site.