Vic: Farquharson mate tells of alleged kill threat

AAP General News (Australia)
08-16-2006
Vic: Farquharson mate tells of alleged kill threat

GEELONG, Aug 16 AAP - A man has told a Victorian court of his emotional trauma at failing
to act when a "good mate" said he planned to kill his three sons.

Bus driver Greg King is giving evidence today against his friend, Robert Farquharson,
37, who is charged with murdering his three sons by driving them into a dam near Winchelsea,
south-west of Melbourne, last Father's Day.

Mr King has told the pre-trial committal hearing at Geelong Magistrates' Court of a
conversation he had with Farquharson outside a fish and chip shop, several months before
the drownings.

He said the two men had just seen Farquharson's former wife, Cindy Gambino, and Farquharson
had commented that he would "pay her back big time".

Mr King said he asked Farquharson if he was referring to his children and asked what he would do.

"He (Farquharson) just then stared at me in my eyes and said `kill them'," Mr King
told the hearing.

Mr King struggled to speak during his cross-examination, and seemed to choke back tears.

He said he did not want to be in court, but the information he had was destroying him.

He said he found it hard to go to the police with the information, but chose to do
so "because it was wrecking me and wrecking my own family and wrecking my own kids".

Mr King said he thought Farquharson was "bull-shitting" at the time, but went home
and told his wife that he was concerned about the conversation.

Farquharson's lawyer, Russell Sarah, accused Mr King of making the evidence up.

"These statements contain a pack of lies - that's the reason you don't want to be here,"

Mr Sarah told him.

The committal hearing continues before Magistrate Jon Klestadt.

AAP kl/szp/gfr/srp/nf

KEYWORD: FARQUHARSON

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