David Pye trial: Prosecutors urge judge to ignore bombshell evidence exposed by The West Australian

David Pye was consumed by hatred when he paid a hitman to shoot Nick Martin, prosecutors argued as they made their final case for why he should be convicted of the bikie boss’ murder. Summing up the case against Pye on Wednesday, prosecutor Justin Whalley reaffirmed that the testimony of the sniper who fired the fatal shot that killed Martin at Perth Motorplex in December 2020 was the crucial witness in the case. Pye is accused of paying the gun-for-hire $150,000 to have Martin killed. He is also charged with offering money to have a woman killed after she accused him of sexual assault — and plotting to have the same gunman murder Comanchero bikie Ray Cilli. Mr Whalley pointed to multiple recordings from a covert listening device installed in Pye’s home as part of the police investigation in which he referred to Martin as a “Rebel dog” and a “fat c...” after he was executed. “The accused was consumed with hatred and contempt for Nick Martin. His animosity towards Martin was clear (in audio recordings) . . . he can’t stop talking about him,” Mr Whalley said. Also during his closing, Mr Whalley said he felt “compelled” to address the fresh evidence exposed in Wednesday’s edition of The West Australian. On Wednesday, The West revealed that a social media post from the sniper’s Instagram appeared to show he was acquainted with Pye in November 2018 — a year earlier than the shooter had previously testified. The shooter had posted a photo of himself holding a snake at Margaret River and an account linked to Pye commented: “Coastal carpet python”. There was no evidence during Pye’s trial that the pair had any relationship prior to late 2019. Mr Whalley urged Justice Joseph McGrath to ignore the article and social media post and argued it was irrelevant in determining Pye’s guilt. The prosecution had previously conceded that its entire case relied on the credibility of the shooter to prove that Pye had ordered Martin’s murder. The trial — dubbed the underworld trial of the century — was expected to detail weeks of explosive evidence including hours of covert surveillance audio from the hidden police listening device. But it came to an abrupt end after just seven days. The triggerman who killed Martin was the first witness to be called and spent the longest time on the stand, detailing over several days the events that led to him taking out the former Rebels president and serving a 20-year jail sentence with a discount for his testimony against Pye. (The shooter) is a man who will manipulate the situation as best he can to get the best outcome for himself. Pye’s defence team, which includes barrister David Hallowes instructed by high-profile lawyer Paul Holmes, did not dispute much of the evidence produced during the trial, including that Pye knew the shooter and that the man attend his home on multiple occasions. “The case stands and falls on the evidence of (the shooter),” Mr Hallowes said in his closing address. “His credibility is the central issue to this case.” Mr Hallowes argued that the shooter had no credibility and had showed a repeated history of “dishonesty”. That included statements to police where he denied having killed anyone before Martin and his initial denials to having any involvement in the murder. Mr Hallowes also outlined the “elaborate” story the shooter told police for months after his arrest — when he claimed he didn’t shoot Martin, but was a spotter. He also came up with a fictitious name for another man who he claimed had shot Martin. He even said that fictitious person drove a 200 series Toyota LandCruiser. “(The shooter) is a man who will manipulate the situation as best he can to get the best outcome for himself,” Mr Hallowes submitted. “He has this ability, we say, to make a false story sound highly credible.” Questions were also raised about statements police had made to the shooter following his arrest. The police told the shooter they had information that “Pye organised the shooting’” and officers had also asked him: “Did you get the buried cash from Pye?” “He (shooter) thought ‘How can I construct my story to best suit my interests’,” Mr Hallowes said. “He knows that naming someone else is something that gives him a discount (on his prison sentence).” Mr Hallowes also raised queries around what else police may have told the shooter — and how when interviewed shortly after his arrest, he knew that Martin had a back tattoo of a bullet with ‘Pye’ written on it. The shooter initially admitted he was told by police about the tattoo. But he later claimed he learnt of it through media reporting. However, Mr Hallowes said there was no evidence that media reports at the time had made any reference to the tattoo. And a police officer had testified at the trial that WA Police never publicly disclosed that information to the media. Pye continued to take notes through the closing submissions as he had for most of the trial. At times he appeared to subtly shake his head in disagreement as parts of the shooter’s allegations against him were raised. The case will return to court on Thursday where Mr Hallowes will complete his closing remarks. Justice McGrath will then retire to consider his verdict.