Outback Wrangler: Reality TV host Matt Wright’s chopper crash trial delayed days before it was set to start

The high-profile criminal trial of Outback Wrangler host Matt Wright, who is charged with attempting to pervert the course of justice following a fatal chopper crash, has been dealt a fresh setback.

At a pre-trial hearing in the Northern Territory Supreme Court this morning, the trial’s start date was pushed back to allow for two days of last-minute legal argument between the parties before a jury is empanelled.

Mr Wright’s lengthy trial, which was set to commence on July 28, will now start on July 30 with both the defence and prosecution telling Acting Justice Alan Blow on Tuesday that they were not ready to start on Monday.

“Both of us agree that we are simply not ready to start on Monday,” defence barrister David Edwardson KC said.

The former reality television star and Tourism Australia ambassador is facing three counts of perverting the course of justice related to his alleged actions after a fatal chopper crash.

Mr Wright owned – but was not flying – a Robinson R44, registered VH-IDW, which crashed during a crocodile egg collecting mission at West Arnhem Land in February 2022.

The catastrophic accident, which occurred almost three and a half years ago, killed his Netflix co-star Chris Wilson and left pilot Sebastian Robinson a paraplegic.

In November of that year, Mr Wright was arrested and charged with seven offences including destroying evidence, fabricating evidence, unlawfully entering a building, unlawfully entering a dwelling, making a false declaration and interfering with witnesses in a criminal investigation or court process by making threats/reprisals.

In December 2023, his most serious charge – attempting to pervert the court of justice – was committed to the Supreme Court and has since been split into three counts.

Mr Wright’s indictment, obtained by The Nightly, reveals that all three alleged offences occurred between March 3 and September 25 in 2022.

Count one is alleged to have occurred on March 3 of that year in Darwin.

Count two is alleged to have occurred between March 3 and March 13 in Darwin and elsewhere.

Count three is alleged to have occurred between September 21 and September 25 in Darwin and elsewhere.

Under section 109 of the NT Criminal Code, any person who attempts to obstruct, prevent, pervert or defeat the course of justice is guilty of an offence and is liable to imprisonment for 15 years.

During a pre-trial hearing in June, one of Mr Wright’s lawyers summarised his client’s alleged offences to the judge.

“The first is lies to police,” Luke Officer said.

“Count two is a count relating to Mr Robinson...

“Count three is an allegation about alleged destruction of, or attempting to destroy, evidence.”

Mr Wright – who also operates multiple Top End tourism ventures – has not entered a plea but has consistently indicated publicly, through his representatives, that he “strenuously denies these charges and will be defending them”.

The 45-year-old will now face a jury trial, of up to five weeks, in the NT Supreme Court at the end of this month.

The father-of-four will be arraigned next Wednesday morning where Acting Justice Blow or his associate will read out Mr Wright’s charges.

As each charge is read aloud, the defendant will be asked to enter a plea of guilty or not guilty.

If Mr Wright pleads guilty to all charges on Wednesday, the trial will be aborted and his matters will be adjourned for sentencing submissions and then sentencing.

If Mr Wright pleads not guilty to any of the charges, the trial will proceed.

There are no judge-alone trials in the NT Supreme Court and 300 ordinary citizens have been summoned to attend court next Wednesday where 12 people (plus a number of ‘spare’ jurors) will be selected to serve.

Jury selection could take most of July 30 with opening arguments expected to start on July 31.

A barrister from Victoria, Jason Gullaci SC, will prosecute the case on behalf of the NT’s Director of Public Prosecutions.

Mr Gullaci, of Brian Bourke Chambers in Melbourne, is the third prosecutor to be appointed.

The case was originally being run by senior crown prosecutor Steve Ledek who, in January, was appointed an Acting Local Court Judge.

Barrister James Moore from Sydney’s Samuel Griffith Chambers was then engaged – and was prepared to prosecute the case this month – but had to be replaced, due to a scheduling conflict, when the trial was postponed three weeks.

As a result, Mr Gullaci – who the judge referred to last month as “some unfortunate substitute counsel” due to his last minute appointment – has had just one month to digest the “voluminous” brief of evidence and prepare to prosecute the complex and high-profile matter.

Mr Wright is also on his third defence team since his 2022 arrest, having previously engaged Sydney-based barrister Greg Jones and Darwin-based Giles O‘Brien-Hartcher.

He is now represented by South Australian silk David Edwardson KC, of Adelaide’s Bar Chambers, and Tindall Gask Bentley partner Luke Officer.

Mr Edwardson and his Darwin-based junior counsel have worked together before.

The pair successfully defended former NT police officer Zachary Rolfe at his murder trial over the fatal shooting of Kumanjayi Walker at Yuendumu.

Perth-based barrister Frank Marenda is also working on Mr Wright’s case in a “part-time” capacity.

At least 50 witnesses are expected to be called to give evidence, including the officer in charge of the NT Police investigation, Detective Senior Sergeant Corey Borton, and other detectives who have worked on the case.

Former NT police officer Neil Mellon and pilot Michael Burbidge, who have already been convicted of destroying evidence after the fatal crash, could be called to give evidence.

Mr Robinson, Wildlife Harvesting NT director Mick Burns and crocodile egg collectors – who were on that fateful mission – might also be called to testify.

At the conclusion of evidence, the jury must reach a unanimous verdict on each count, although in some cases, the judge might accept the decision of 11 out of 12 jurors as sufficient.

If the jury cannot reach a unanimous verdict, a new jury will be empanelled for a re-trial.

If the trial runs for the full five weeks, the jury will deliver its verdicts on August 29, which is Mr Wright’s 46th birthday.