The prostitute who confessed to being paid $25,000 to stage a violent home invasion has had her attempted murder charge dropped after investigators confirmed she was on an interstate bus at the time.
Jessica Honey Fallon was released on Thursday morning two weeks into her trial at Lismore District Court for her alleged role in an attack that saw Michael Anthony Martin and his roommate Edmund Manning injured in their northern New South Wales home in April, 2014.
The 23-year-old was charged three years ago but walked free as police were able to confirm she was on a bus from Tweed Heads to Sydney after speaking with her friend and reviewing selfies and text messages between the two, the Gold Coast Bulletin reported.
Jessica Honey Fallon was released on Thursday morning two weeks into her trial at Lismore District Court for her alleged role in a violent home invasion
Michael Anthony Martin was the victim of the home invasion in April, 2014
The charges against Ms Fallon were sensationally withdrawn after irrefutable evidence was produced to confirm she was not at Martin’s South Murwillumbah home at the time of the invasion.
It’s alleged Mr Martin’s son, Michael Phillip Martin, paid Ms Fallon the money to kill his estranged father in the early hours of April 7, the Northern Star reported.
Her defence team produced subpoenas on bus company Premier Motor Service and the Sydney Coach Terminal in court on Tuesday, which showed Ms Fallon would have been on the Pacific Highway near Coffs Harbour at the time of the 3am attack.
She was also travelling with a friend at the time, who only recently spoke to police.
The charges against Ms Fallon were sensationally withdrawn after irrefutable evidence was produced to confirm she was not at Martin’s Murwillumbah home at the time of the invasion
Piecing together photos and text message conversations, investigators were able to confirm Ms Fallon was on the bus, with one text to a friend between April 5-6 reading ‘I’m at Newcastle’
Piecing together photos and text message conversations, investigators were able to confirm Ms Fallon was on the bus, with one text to a friend between April 5-6 reading ‘I’m at Newcastle’.
There had been ‘serious concerns’ raised about the Crown’s case as early as December 2016, when Justice Adamson said in a Supreme Court bail hearing there was ‘little if any evidence’ which connected Ms Fallon with the incident.
She believed Ms Fallon was ‘very prone to suggestion and that the version (of events) she gave may well have scant association with the truth’.
Even the recorded police interview where Ms Fallon ‘confessed’ failed to match up with her movements on April 7, the court heard.
A relieved Ms Fallon said upon leaving court she was looking forward to ‘getting on with things, finally’.
Last Friday, Mr Martin’s son Michael Phillip Martin (pictured) was sentenced to 37 years for his murder after stabbing him 16 times with a samurai sword
Last Friday, Mr Martin’s son Michael Phillip Martin was sentenced to 37 years for his murder after stabbing him 16 times with a samurai sword.
In the months leading up to his father’s death, Martin Jnr took out three life insurance policies against his father’s name to a total of $2.5 million.
‘The moral delinquency involved in this course of conduct is staggering,’ Justice Peter Hammill after handing down his verdict last week.
‘The offence was carried out with a cold-blooded determination scarcely imaginable to ordinary members of the community guided by moral and ethical standards inherent in most human beings.’