A man accused of murdering his former wife by running her car off a country road at high speed has been ordered to appear in court for the first time since the crash, which left him disabled.
Troy Armstrong, 36, is charged with murdering his former wife, Kristy Armstrong, when he allegedly drove his ute towards her sedan at 140kmh in Molong in central-west NSW on June 9 last year.
He also faces two attempted murder charges related to passengers in the sedan – who were left with minor injuries – and three counts of breaching apprehended violence orders.
Armstrong has not entered pleas and is due to face a committal hearing in July.
Troy Armstrong (right) is accused of murdering his former wife Kristy(left)
Magistrate David Day asked on Thursday whether Armstrong, who is being held in Long Bay jail’s hospital on remand, would be fit to attend the hearing via audio-visual link.
‘He is fit to appear,’ Armstrong’s lawyer Drew Hamilton told Orange Local Court during the brief mention.
‘It does take some work to get him in the AVL suite but he can appear.’
Day set the hearing date and asked that Armstrong appear from custody. It will be the first time he has faced court after being critically injured in the crash.
‘It does take some work to get him in the AVL suite, but he can appear,’ he said.
It is alleged that Armstrong ran his former partner’s car off a country road by driving his ute towards her sedan at 140km/h
Mr Day set the hearing date and asked that Armstrong appear from custody in what will be his first court appearance since he was critically injured.
It will be the first time he has faced court, having been critically injured in the June 9 crash.
Armstrong was under 24-hour guard in the intensive care unit at Royal North Shore Hospital in Sydney in the months afterwards with serious brain and spinal injuries.
During an unsuccessful bail application last year, Hamilton told the court Armstrong posed little risk to the community as he had part of his skull removed and could no longer walk.
Police prosecutor Carl Smith described Armstrong as ‘an extremely dangerous person’ who left the surviving victims in fear, despite his injuries.
‘(They) were terrified before this incident, they’re even more terrified now,’ Sergeant Smith told the earlier hearing.
‘He knew driving 140km/h into a car of the likelihood that he’d be killing his wife, but (also) anyone else in that motor vehicle.’
Troy Armstrong (pictured right with his former wife Kristy) will face a committal hearing in July
The case has taken a year to reach the committal stage in part because the cars were sent to the US for specialist forensic testing.
Ms Armstrong was one of many women remembered at an gendered violence rally in Orange last month.
Her family and friends have attended each court appearance since Armstrong’s arrest, wearing purple in her honour.
Armstrong’s case will return to court on July 11.
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