The rumours surrounding the mysterious disappearance a man who police believe was murdered have been aired out in court, including whether he’d had his arm chopped off, was put in an acid bath or killed by bikies.
David Lee Tan, Billy Bornstein, Francesco Giorgi and Filip Grbavac are each charged with the murder of Lachlan Griffiths.
The 34-year-old man was reported missing by his mother in late January 2022.
His body has never been found.
He was known to be residing in different hotels in the Brisbane area.
During a committal hearing in Brisbane Magistrates Court on Tuesday, Mr Griffiths’ friend Sarah Scaini said she’d secretly recorded a conversation she had with his girlfriend, Amy Turner, on November 15, 2022.
The court heard Ms Turner had also previously been in a relationship with Mr Grbavac but were still on good terms when their relationship ended. Ms Turner is not accused of any wrongdoing.
Ms Scaini was asked about the secret recordings she’d made by Mr Grbavac’s barrister, Simon Lewis.
The court heard Ms Scaini was discussing what she’d heard had happened to Mr Griffiths in the recording, including that his arm had been cut off, there was a video, acid was involved or potentially it was bikie related.
Ms Scaini was also discussing in the secret recording that Mr Griffiths had “robbed Asians” and his disappearance might have had something to do with that.
“I wasn’t referring to anyone in particular,” Ms Scaini told the court on Tuesday.
“I heard a lot of things.
“It’s just what I’ve heard … (from) lots of different people.”
She said everything she said was based on “rumours’ she’d heard from other people.
During his cross-examination, Crown Prosecutor Christopher Cook asked Ms Scaini whether her knowledge of what happened to Mr Griffiths was “mostly gossip, speculation or hearsay”.
Ms Scaini agreed and said she wasn’t aware of the evidence police did have against the four men charged with his murder.
Ms Turner also told the court on Tuesday she was only referring to things she’d heard on the news during the recorded conversation with Ms Scaini.
“I think that was just assumptions”, Ms Turner said when asked about whether Mr Griffiths was shot or chopped up.
Jamie Lee Allen, who owned a property on Musgrave Road in Coopers Plains where police had searched for Mr Griffiths’ body, told the court carpet had been replaced in the boardroom of the building.
Mr Allen said he wasn’t sure why the room had been cleaned.
“It had been tidy, there was less rubbish was everywhere,” Mr Allen said.
“Some carpet tiles had been changed because they’d had some chemicals spilled on them.”
Mr Allen is not accused of any wrongdoing.
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Mr Allen said he had been told there had been a fight in the boardroom but told the court he didn’t ask any further questions.
When asked whether he knew about an alleged fire at the property, Mr Allen said “sometimes it’s best to not ask questions”.
The hearing continues on Wednesday.
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