Outback Wrangler star Matt Wright still has the swagger of a Netflix celebrity and successful Top End entrepreneur as he arrives daily at Darwin’s Supreme Court with his model wife Kaia.
Each day as his lawyers and crown prosecutors do their own wrangling over legal evidence leading up to Wright’s imminent trial, he has sat in the dock in jeans and a series of freshly ironed blue shirts which serve to accentuate his intense blue eyes.
The trial, relating to the fatal helicopter crash that claimed the life of Wright’s Netflix co-star Chris ‘Willow’ Wilson during a 2022 crocodile egg-harvesting mission, is scheduled to commence on Tuesday, barring any further delays.
Wright is charged with three counts of perverting the course of justice, with each charge carrying a maximum penalty of ten years if he were to be convicted.
Wright and his wife Kaia, a former model, have two young children: their son Banjo, nearly six, and daughter Dusty, aged two.
With their lives on hold for at least a month, the Wrights’ previously charmed existence has been interrupted and their multi-million-dollar Northern Territory business empire placed on hold.
The glamorous couple has capitalised greatly on his success after he found fame in National Geographic’s Outback Wrangler from 2011 to 2019 .
Wright established the helicopter charter firm Helibrook and invested in multiple other business ventures jointly operated with Kaia.
A five-villa luxury property dubbed Freshwater Retreat in Darwin that accommodates 18 people and costs more than $5000 for two nights was among the business ventures the Wrights undertook.
They also invested in the Top End Safari Camp, south of Darwin, where guests can stay in tents, enjoy airboat rides, and take scenic helicopter flights to spot crocodiles, birds, and buffalo.
In addition, they operated Tiwi Island Retreat, a beachfront marine sanctuary on remote Bathurst Island in the Tiwi Islands group.
However, since tragedy struck Mr Wilson on that fateful flight in February three years ago, the Wrights’ world has been turned upside down.
Dani, Mr Wilson’s widow, sued Wright’s company Helibrook, which according to court papers released last week has been recently liquidated.
Ms Wilson alleged in the ongoing case that the croc wrangler was ‘obliged to take reasonable steps to ensure the activity was conducted in appropriate circumstances, safely and legally’.
In the months following Mr Wilson’s death, Wright shuttered several other businesses under a parent company, Wright Expeditions, including 1300 HELIFISH, 1800 HELIFISH, Helicopter Pub Crawls, and Matt Wright Explore the Wild.
Now, a Darwin property bought nine years ago and transformed into an elegant home at Virginia, in southern Darwin, is on the market for $1.39million.
Wright’s lead role in Outback Wrangler – before launching his Netflix and Channel Nine spin-off – was believed to have earned him at least $250,000 per season.
Wild Croc Territory featured Wright as the main star and as executive producer alongside his agent, Nick Fordham, further boosting his income.
However, the first season of the show, which co-starred Mr Wilson, was derailed by the crash that led to his death.
Wright was not the pilot during the 28 February 2022 mission, in which Chris Wilson was suspended in a sling beneath the Robinson R44 helicopter.
Three helicopters departed at 7.03am, with VH-IDW, carrying Wilson, last tracked at about 8.50am by GPS.
At around 10.24am, with no communication from VH-IDW, the other two helicopter pilots began searching and soon located the crash site.
They found Mr Wilson deceased on the sling line, and Sebastian Robinson critically injured.
The helicopter had crashed in a paperbark swamp near King River, a remote part of West Arnhem Land, 500km east of Darwin.
Mr Wilson had been suspended on a 30m sling picking eggs from crocodile nests at a height of up to 9m, and died after falling.
According to air safety regulations, such operations should only be conducted from a height not exceeding 5m, and helicopters must fly at walking pace.
Mr Robinson was left paraplegic as a result of his injuries.
Dani Wilson, who has attended Darwin court in the lead-up to Matt Wright’s trial, launched legal action in the Federal Court against the wildlife catcher, whom she blames for her husband’s death.
Now 45, Wright will stand trial for approximately four weeks before NT Acting Justice Alan Blow, with at least 25 witnesses to be called by Crown Prosecutor Jason Gullaci SC.
The charges relate to the alleged actions of the father-of-two following the crash, between March and September 2022, in Darwin and other locations.
After the accident, Netflix continued to stream the first season of Wild Croc Territory despite a request from Dani Wilson to cease, but a planned second season for 2023 has never aired.
Wright previously had endorsement deals with Ariat, Yokohama Tyres and Otis Eyewear. Tourism also dropped him as a ‘Friends of ‘ ambassador.
Jury empanelment is set to begin on Tuesday, followed by opening submissions from the Crown and from Wright’s barrister, leading Adelaide counsel David Edwardson KC, the next day.