William Ton, AAP
A key witness against a man accused of killing his wife almost 20 years ago admits he has helped himself avoid a murder charge by taking the stand.
Cindy Crossthwaite, 41, was found dead on June 20, 2007, in the lounge room of her Melton South home with a Victorian Supreme Court jury told she had been choked and shot in the head from close range.
Brian O’Shea testified on Thursday November 21 as a witness in the murder trial of his former friend Emil “Bill” Petrov, who has pleaded not guilty to the murder of Mrs Crossthwaite.
The couple, who were married for almost 10 years before their separation in 2005, faced hearings in the Family Court in May 2007 as they tried to divide up their assets, crown prosecutor Mark Gibson said.
Mr O’Shea described a deep-seated hatred Petrov had for his ex-wife whom he believed had been unfaithful, was pregnant with another man’s child after they had separated and that she wanted to inherit Petrov’s properties in the divorce.
He told the jury he had provided Petrov with a gun for $3000 in 2006 or 2007 believing it was for the protection of his friend’s family after their house was broken into.
A couple of weeks later Mr O’Shea said he went to Petrov’s home in Footscray to help move a cupboard when he came across his friend’s open car boot which contained a black beanie, a dark blue jacket, black gloves and a short curly black wig.
“He saw me look and I asked what he was doing,” Mr O’Shea told the court.
“‘I’m going to kill that c*** Cindy. I’m going to take a week off work. I’m going to kill her’,” Mr O’Shea alleged Petrov told him.
Mr O’Shea said he told Petrov he was off his “f***ing head” and needed to see a doctor because he was taking things too far.
“He grabbed me in a headlock and said he was just mucking around,” the witness said.
It was revealed in court Mr O’Shea had pleaded not guilty to a murder charge in a previous trial into Mrs Crossthwaite’s death that was discontinued and no findings were made against him.
“Sir, by giving evidence today, you have helped yourself avoid facing a murder charge haven’t you?” defence barrister Ashley Halphen asked on Thursday.
“Yes,” Mr O’Shea responded.
He confirmed his murder charge was dropped in April after prosecutors approached him to make a statement and give evidence in Petrov’s trial.
But the defence queried him on evidence in his 2024 statement which they claimed was missing in his earlier statements and police interviews in 2007, 2017 and 2019.
“Nothing said in previous occasions of Mr Petrov hating Mrs Crossthwaite?” Mr Halphen asked.
“Yes,” Mr O’Shea responded.
“Nothing said in previous occasions of Mr Petrov threatening to kill or get rid of Mrs Crossthwaite?” the defence asked.
“Yes,” he responded.
“Those matters were only raised in a statement to bring about discontinuation of your murder charges,” Mr Halphen said.
“That’s correct,” Mr O’Shea said.
The defence suggested Mr O’Shea, having sat through his first trial in 2023, used information from that to put together a version of events that did not occur, including information Petrov had taken days off work before Mrs Crossthwaite was found dead.
“No, it did occur … 100 per cent,” he said.
The trial continues.
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