A couple who allegedly tied a teacher to a chair and bashed him with a golf club before he was hit by a truck claim he appeared on their farm brandishing a knife.
Anthony Stott, 43, was mowed down on a highway in northern NSW less than 24 hours after stepping off a plane from Brisbane airport.
The St Peters College French teacher had returned from a holiday to Peru, via Sydney, and was last seen alive on airport CCTV about 3pm on Sunday.
Mark Francis Frost, 46 – known locally as Frosty – and Lauren Claire Grainger, 38, are accused of torturing him for six and a half hours before he fled.
Anthony Stott, 43, was a respected French teacher at Brisbane’s St Peters Lutheran College and died about 7am on Monday
Mark Francis Frost, 46, (left) and Lauren Claire Grainger, 38, (right) have been charged with detaining with intent to obtain advantage
However, Grainger claimed the couple only detained Mr Stott to find out why he was on their property armed, before letting him go, court documents allege.
‘I tried to restrain him… I marched him out there (to the shed),’ she allegedly told police, according to the Courier Mail.
Mr Stott allegedly ended up ‘tied to a chair’ at the farm in Cudgera Creek but somehow escaped or was released to a nearby road.
The couple are charged with detaining Mr Stott with intent to obtain advantage.
They allegedly took photos of him in the chair, restrained with rope around his hands and neck, one of which was shown in Tweed Heads Local Court on Monday as Grainger applied for bail.
Police are yet to find the chair and rope allegedly used to tie up Mr Stott, despite an extensive search of the property.
Grainger allegedly told police Mr Stott was released the next morning and ‘casually’ walked towards the M1.
Witnesses said he raised his arms as he emerged from bushes by the side of the highway and was hit in what police believe to be an accident.
Anthony Stott was last seen at Brisbane airport at 3pm on Sunday after returning from a holiday to Peru
Mr Stott was last seen alive landing at Brisbane Airport, he was then allegedly abducted and held at a property in Cudgera Creek in northern NSW. Later, he was struck by a truck and died
Mr Stott’s silver BMW was found in a laneway off the M1 before he was killed.
Police opposed bail for Grainger, saying she had not been ‘completely honest’ with detectives and that knives similar to the one she claimed Mr Stott had were in the farmhouse’ kitchen.
Magistrate Geoff Dunlevy denied her bail despite her brother putting up a large bond and offering a place to stay.
He said he was concerned Grainger would interfere with the ongoing police search for the rope and chair – key pieces of evidence.
Frost has not applied for bail and is still behind bars.
The pair are part of a team of vegetable and flower farmers who won Best Lettuce and Best Tomato at the Murwillumbah show last year. Their tomatoes and flowers were regularly sold at a local farmer’s markets and stores.
A neighbouring farmer told Daily Mail Australia that Frost seemed like a ‘professional’ farmer.
Frost and Grainger were both previously witnesses in the trial of a local cattle farmer in 2013, over a pub brawl they allegedly witnessed.
NRL star Craig Field was convicted of Tweed cattle farmer Kelvin Kane’s manslaughter at the conclusion of the trial.
Mr Stott’s silver BMW had been found abandoned on the highway, close to the couple’s property, several hours before he was killed
Police are wanting to speak with anyone who may have seen his vehicle on Sunday afternoon– a silver BMW with NSW registration ANL 72Y
Puzzled investigators are examining how and why Mr Stott – a well-respected teacher at St Peters Lutheran College – allegedly ended up at a property in Cudgera Creek.
Police have claimed that Mr Stott was allegedly tied to a chair at the property and officers are probing whether the teacher was known to the accused couple.
Detective Acting Superintendent Brendon Cullen claimed to reporters this week: ‘We do not know what that relationship is, we don’t know how he ended up in their house or why he ended up there.’.
‘What we do know is he was there and he was detained against his will there… what we don’t know what happened after he left that place.’
‘We want to speak with anyone on the NSW Far North Coast or across the border in Queensland who may have had dealings with or had spoken with him since Sunday 9 February,’ Supt Cullen said.
‘We’re also wanting to speak with anyone who may have seen his vehicle on Sunday afternoon– a silver BMW with NSW registration ANL 72Y.
‘Piecing together his movements in the 24-hours prior to his death is crucial and I urge anyone who may have any information to contact Crime Stoppers.’
Investigators aren’t ruling out the involvement of illicit drugs in Mr Stott’s death and alleged abduction, but noted the teacher was ‘by all accounts a fine member of the public’.
Anthony Stott, 43, taught French at St Peters Lutheran College, a prestigious $24,000-a-year school in Brisbane
Supt Cullen also said at this stage there is no evidence pointing to connections to bikie gangs.
In a statement, St Peters Lutheran College Springfield said it was ‘devastated’ by Mr Stott’s ‘tragic passing’.
‘Mr Stott was a primary school teacher at the College from 2018 and was a popular and well-regarded member of our community,’ the school said in a statement.
‘This is a very difficult time for the St Peters community and the College is offering support to Mr Stott’s family as well as staff, students and families.
‘Out of respect for Mr Stott’s family, and because this is now an active Police investigation, it is not appropriate for the College to make any further public comment.’
Frost and Grainger’s case returns to court at a later date.
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