Same gun fired cartridges found at couple's property as those found at murder scene, Shane Barker trial told

Jun 10, 2023

Ammunition found at a property belonging to two people accused of murder was discharged by the same gun that fired cartridges found at the murder scene of their former son-in-law, a court has been told.

Cedric and Noelene Jordan, of Swansea, have pleaded not guilty to murdering Shane Geoffrey Barker in August 2009.

Prosecutors allege the pair shot Mr Barker four times with a 22-calibre pump action rifle at his Campbell Town home, though a murder weapon has never been found.

Earlier in the trial, the jury heard the Jordans killed Mr Barker "in cold blood" and that the deceased was in a "toxic relationship" with his ex-wife, Rachel Jordan.

Tasmania Police ballistics expert Gerard Dutton testified in the Supreme Court in Launceston today, as part of the trial which is in its seventh week.

He told the court he had examined and analysed dozens of bullets and several cartridge cases from across both the Campbell Town scene and the Jordan's property at Little Pine in Tasmania's Central Highlands.

Mr Dutton told the court he had "no doubt in his mind" a cartridge case that was found at the scene and three cases found at Little Pine were fired by the same gun.

"They were certainly discharged from the same firearm," he testified.

Mr Dutton said a further three cartridge cases were probably fired from the same gun as the others.

"In all likelihood, they were fired in the same gun, but because the cases are too degraded, I can't be certain," he told the jury.

Director of Public Prosecutions Daryl Coates asked him if it was possible the cartridges were fired in a different, second firearm.

"It's possible there was another gun, but it's not practically likely," Mr Dutton replied.

He said another two cartridge cases that he assessed were definitely not fired from the same gun as the rest.

Under cross-examination, Mr Dutton explained while he can match cartridge cases to each other, it's not possible to match any given bullet to a specific cartridge case.

Mr Dutton described to the jury in detail the key features he looks for when examining bullets under specialised microscopes, including class characteristics and unique markings called striation and impress marks.

He said the marks on the bullets found at the Campbell Town scene were relatively consistent when each was compared to each other.

Here are the steps to get breaking news alerts on the latest Tasmanian stories directly to your phone. 📱

Download the ABC News app — Apple App Store | Google Play

He told the jury some of the marks suggested a sound suppressor, also known as a silencer, had been used.

Sound suppressors are now illegal in Australia, though Mr Dutton said there was a time they were legal and he still examines them "all the time".

Mr Dutton testified that despite searching interstate firearm reference libraries, international databases and looking at guns in-person, he could not identify the exact make and model of firearm that fired the bullets that which killed Mr Barker.

"It's not normal to be able to establish definitively what type of arm fired," he said.

Under cross-examination from defence lawyer Fran McCracken, Mr Dutton said while he was certain the gun was a 22 calibre and it was definitely not a revolver, he couldn't narrow it down any further.

"The information doesn't allow me to be any more definitive."

The trial is continuing.

Set the ABC News website or the app to "Tasmania Top Stories" from either the home page or the settings menu in the app to continue getting the same national news but with a sprinkle of more relevant state stories.

Here's a taste of the latest stories from Tasmania 📰