Former detective Roger Rogerson and his co-accused in the murder of student Jamie Gao shared a six-pack of beer after storing the victim's body in a garage, a Sydney court has heard.
Rogerson and Glen McNamara have pleaded not guilty to murdering Mr Gao at a storage facility in Sydney's south-west and dumping his body off Cronulla in May 2014.
On his second day in the witness box, Rogerson said the pair went to McNamara's apartment after they dealt with the body in his garage and had a drink and chatted to McNamara's daughter, Jessica.
Rogerson, 75, said he told McNamara: "Glen, your daughters remind me of my daughters when they were their age" and he should be proud because he had "lovely, lovely daughters".
He denied having a gun on him at the time, and touching his pocket while he remarked about McNamara's daughter.
Last month, McNamara told the court Rogerson said "do as you're told or I'll kill your girls", but today Rogerson denied he threatened McNamara and his daughters on the day of the killing and thereafter, saying that claim was "another massive lie".
The court also heard McNamara was worried about reprisals after the shooting of Mr Gao.
McNamara feared for 'vulnerable daughters'
McNamara feared for 'vulnerable daughters'
Rogerson also described conversations he said he had with McNamara after driving to the apartment complex in Cronulla.
"He was saying: 'This arsehole nearly killed me'," Rogerson told the court.
He said McNamara told him: "He can't hurt me but his mates can and I'm very worried about my daughters. They are vulnerable."
Rogerson continued: "I was starting to realise the whole enormity of what had happened and I didn't know what to think."
Rogerson has already told the jury Mr Gao was dead on the floor of the storage unit when he entered, and McNamara told him Mr Gao had pulled a gun on him and shot himself in a struggle.
He said McNamara discouraged him from calling police, claiming if the Triads found out, they would kill police officers and there would be a "bloodbath".
McNamara handled Gao's body in garage, court told
Rogerson today said it was his co-accused who handled the body inside his garage.
Rogerson today said it was his co-accused who handled the body inside his garage.
"The tarp and the surfboard cover were tightly wrapped around the body of Mr Gao," he said.
"Neither of us... could lift the body any more than just a few inches off the floor."
The pair then hired a block and tackle, or as Rogerson described it, a "chain block", to lift the body into McNamara's boat.
Rogerson said McNamara made a number of attempts before he was successful.
"The most I did was try to keep the body level by holding the feet of Mr Gao while Glen McNamara used the apparatus," Rogerson said.
Rogerson also rejected the accusation he was on the boat that dumped Mr Gao's body in waters off Cronulla.
"I was not on that boat, I never made any suggestion about stabbing the body because I wasn't on the boat in the first place," Rogerson told the court.
He said the next morning, McNamara towed the boat to a ramp in the Gymea area while he followed, but he did not board the boat himself.
"The last I saw of him was motoring down the Port Hacking River," he said.
His evidence continues. Page source: http://www.abc.net.au/news/2016-05-09/glen-mcnamara-feared-reprisals-after-jamie-gao-shooting-court/7395384
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