A man who sent a series of threatening messages to Outback Wrangler Matt Wright and his wife Kaia forced the couple and their kids to relocate from the family home.
Jock Fleming, 28, began sending messages to TV personality Matt Wright and his wife Kaia after a fatal crash that killed Mr Wright’s co-star on February 28, 2022.
A helicopter operated by Mr Wright’s Helibrook company crashed near King River, 500km east of Darwin, killing Chris ‘Willow’ Wilson who was dangling from a 100-foot sling line beneath the vehicle, and severely injuring pilot Sebastian Robinson.
After the incident Mr Wright began receiving messages from Mr Fleming including one that read ‘death is coming for yewwwwwe’.
This week, Mr Fleming pleaded guilty to three counts of using a carriage service in a way that reasonable persons would regard as being menacing and harassing and is no longer allowed to contact the Wright family.
Kaia Wright told the Darwin Local Court that her family (pictured) was forced to relocate for their own safety after being harassed online by a troll
Jock Fleming pleaded guilty to three occasions of harassment against Matt Wright, some of which included death threats
Mr Fleming was released on a 12-month $1,000 good behaviour bond which Ms Wright hopes will deter other online trolls from repeating similar behaviour.
‘No woman should be made to feel unsafe in their own home, especially with young kids there, she told News Limited.
‘Unfortunately this is not an isolated incident and we continue to receive horrible messages on social media.
‘If there’s one thing to come from this it’s that I want people to think about the women, families and kids on the other side of the message before they become keyboard warriors.’
In Ms Wright’s victim impact statement she told the Darwin Local Court that she still struggled to feel safe after her house was targeted by someone during the course of Mr Fleming’s harassment.
‘The last message received from Jock was around the same time that vandalism attacks were being made to my family home and power box,’ she wrote.
‘The simultaneous nature of the threatening messages from Jock and the attacks on my home and power box led me to feel very uneasy.
‘Even now, I am always on edge in public in case I run into him, not knowing what he may do. I wonder about what his frame of mind is, and worry that things might escalate.
‘I’m pretty withdrawn now in Darwin because of the abuse we’ve received.
‘Over time I’ve become a bit numb to online abuse and keyboard warriors but this is something else. I had to move from where I was living and I worried he knew that, and I spiralled at that point and am still struggling with feeling safe today.’
Police first got involved when Mr Fleming commented on an Instagram post by Mr Wright announcing the death of one of his tour animals.
‘With any luck you won’t be too far behind him,’ Mr Fleming’s comment read.
‘ … looks like matty made a booboo hope he has a few more crocodile tears to shed when he actually needs them,’ some of the message read.
Ms Wright told the court that she had increased security around her house but still felt unsafe after receiving a string of messages from Mr Fleming
The messages started shortly after a helicopter operated by Mr Wright’s Helibrook company crashed, killing Chris ‘Willow’ Wilson and severely injuring pilot Sebastian Robinson
Around this same time police also notified Mr Wright that a warrant for his arrest had been issued in relation to the fatal helicopter crash.
Mr Wright will face trial later this year and has been accused of perverting the course of justice following the crash.
Police were again notified to Mr Fleming’s crusade against the family on February 24, 2023, when a death threat texted to Mr Wright was traced back to his phone number.
Mr Fleming again contacted the family after the Australian Transport Safety Bureau released its findings into the Helibrook crash in November.
The day after the findings were released Ms Wright received a private Instagram message from Mr Fleming who was posing under the username Darwin_Gecko.
‘ … looks like matty made a booboo hope he has a few more crocodile tears to shed when he actually needs them,’ some of the message read.
The court heard that the continued harassment was the lone factor in Ms Wright’s decision to relocate her family.
She told police that she was ‘fearful for herself and her children’, despite the fact that she had installed bolt-locks on her doors and created barricades inside the house.
Ms Wright was also sleeping with her children for their safety and had installed security cameras on the property.
Mr Fleming has been told by the court that should he contact the Wright family again, he will go to prison.
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