Aaron Bunch Journalist with Australian Associated Press | Collection of published work | + 61 484 008 119 | abunch@aap.com.au
Accused Qld murder argued with victim
Queensland man Robert Wagner regularly argued with his wealthy uncle, Gerhard Wagner, who he is accused of killing in January 1999, a court has heard.
June 11, 2019
A cash-strapped Queensland man was regularly nagged about his wasteful ways by the wealthy uncle he is accused of murdering, a court has been told.
Robert James Wagner, 57, has pleaded not guilty to killing Gerhard Wagner in the garage of dead man’s Brisbane home in January 1999.
In the Brisbane Supreme Court on Tuesday, Gerhard Wagner’s then partner, Menchie Klune, said the accused and his uncle were always arguing.
“Gerry wanted him to change his lifestyle,” Ms Menchie said.
“He wanted him to save some money (and) not to go out (so much).”
Gerhard, 61, was last seen riding a motorcycle from a workshop after working on his prized yacht on January 7, the court was told.
Neither his body nor the motorcycle have ever been found
Wagner owed Gerhard about $84,000 and was in a difficult financial position, crown prosecutor Philip McCarthy told the trial after it began on Monday.
He said when Wagner’s uncle disappeared he had “considerable assets” and plans of sailing the world on his yacht.
The court heard Wagner had made changes to his uncle’s will in the months before his disappearance.
Mr McCarthy said a witness had come forward with claims that Wagner told him he’d “knocked his uncle off” and got away with it.
The witness, who can’t be identified for legal reasons, said Wagner told him he had cut and hacked his uncle’s body to pieces with a knife and disposed of it in locations in the Glass House Mountains.
The trial continues.