Witness alleges threats in Australian disappearance case — ABC News Australia

In the Australian state of Victoria, a witness in the case of Christopher Jarvis’s disappearance told the court that he was threatened with death after the alleged murder if he spoke about the incident. Stephen Frederick Johnson, 74, pleaded not guilty to the murder of 38-year-old Jarvis, who disappeared from his home in Wangoom near Warrnambool on June 13, 2006.

As ABC News Australia reports, Jarvis’s burned-out car was found near the Thunder Point lookout on the same day. The man’s body has still not been found.

The prosecution’s case

Prosecutors allege that Johnson arranged an attack on his tenant over $2,210 in unpaid rent. The court also heard that the men were involved in a civil dispute, with a VCAT hearing scheduled for the day after Jarvis disappeared.

The witness, whose name has not been disclosed for legal reasons, told jurors that he agreed to help Johnson remove Jarvis from the rented property. He said he believed Johnson only wanted to intimidate the tenant into paying the money.

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The witness stated that in the morning they approached Jarvis near his home, and Johnson allegedly struck him on the head with a pistol. According to the man’s testimony, Jarvis was later taken in his car to Framlingham Forest, where a shallow grave was dug. The witness claims that Johnson struck Jarvis on the head with a baseball bat, after which the body was placed in the grave.

Arson attack on the car

According to the witness, the men then drove separately to Thunder Point: Johnson drove Jarvis’s car, while the witness drove a black Holden Commodore pickup. He said Johnson drove Jarvis’s car into the dunes, doused it with petrol and set it alight.

The witness also said that after the arson, Johnson threatened to kill him if he disclosed the information. Retired teacher Michael Kibblewhite separately told the court that on the morning of the alleged crime, he saw large plumes of smoke above Thunder Point and a black pickup speeding away from the lookout.

The defence insists that Johnson was attempting to resolve the tenancy dispute through legal means and was not involved in Jarvis’s disappearance. The case is being heard by the Supreme Court of Victoria in Warrnambool.