Jury discharged in Qld boat incident trial

A jury has been discharged after it could not decide whether a boat owner who claimed a “drug crime syndicate” and Queensland police were involved in a fatal marine incident was of sound mind.

Stan Anthoulas, 54, had pleaded not guilty to contravening the general safety obligation of a ship owner, causing death or grievous bodily harm following a February 2016 Brisbane River tragedy that claimed a woman’s life.

Crown prosecutor Danny Boyle called on a forensic psychiatrist to give evidence regarding the mental health of Anthoulas, who represented himself at the District Court trial.

The jury retired at 1.40pm on Wednesday to consider a verdict on Anthoulas’s fitness to stand trial and whether he was of sound mind.

However, the 10-day trial has been abandoned after the jury deliberated for another nine hours on Thursday but could not reach a decision, They were discharged by Judge Tony Moynihan at 5pm.

Anthoulas claimed during the trial that he had received death threats, was “followed by cars” and evaded a “predatory group” before the marine tragedy.

“I believe on that day of that boating incident … there was a predatory group waiting, including police, and my boat was possibly swamped deliberately,” he told the jury.

It is the second time the trial has been abandoned.