Arriving at Darwin’s Supreme Court for the trial of Netflix star Matt Wright, the wives and partners of the Northern Territory crocodile industry staged a daily procession of style.
Inside, the court heard extraordinary stories of men who wrangle giant saltwater crocodiles and fly helicopters in remote northern .
Wright, the Outback Wrangler, was on trial over the 2022 helicopter crash that claimed the life of Chris ‘Willow’ Wilson and left pilot Sebastian Robinson paralysed.
He was accused of lying to crash investigators about the amount of fuel in the machine, of trying to get Mr Robinson to falsify flying hours and of asking a friend to ‘torch’ the helicopter’s maintenance release.
On Friday, the jury in the Supreme Court in Darwin found him guilty on the first two counts but could not reach a verdict on the third count regarding the ‘torch’ claim.
But over the four weeks of the trial, the partners and wives of key figures in the case arrived each day of the proceedings, dressed immaculately in the 31C Darwin winter.
Wright’s glamorous wife, Kaia, was regularly seen in designer outfits, always carrying her signature $5,000 Goyard bag.
Her ensembles included a cream H&M waistcoat, navy trousers, high-heeled sandals, and a $1,120 Hermes enamel bracelet.
On the trial’s first day, Kaia and Wright wore matching beige trousers, with Wright donning a white shirt and tie and Kaia pairing hers with a black turtleneck top.
The next day, former model Kaia teamed a pair of Scanlan Theodore tan leather trousers with a sleeveless black turtleneck top.
Other outfits have included a cream H&M suit waistcoat and navy trousers with high-heeled sandals and a sleeveless denim mini dress.
On the second day of evidence from helicopter pilot Seb Robinson, who was left paralysed by the crash, Kaia appeared head-to-toe in designer gear.
She walked into court wearing an $800 vest by The Stars Outside The City, an $1120 white Hermes enamel bangle and Alaia $1200 ballet flat shoes.
After court, she often met up with her friend Jade Burbidge, wife of chief helicopter pilot Michael Keith Burbidge, who also gave evidence.
In quiet contrast, Dani Wilson, widow of Chris ‘Willow’ Wilson, attended every day carrying a simple Laura Jones laptop tote.
For the opening submissions, Dani wore a black shirt, black jeans, and RM Williams boots.
And that style was maintained, with Dani favouring jeans, T-shirts, and understated blouses, once arriving in a mid-blue silk satin collarless shirt tucked into her jeans.
Wright was freed on bail ahead of his sentencing in October and pending an appeal against his convictions.
He also faces a civil case brought against him and the Civil Aviation Safety Authority by Dani Wilson over her husband’s death.
After the jury handed down its verdicts on Friday, Wright came under a two-pronged attack from Dani and Mr Robinson, the injured pilot.
Ms Wilson told reporters outside court Wright had attempted to pervert the course of justice and in doing so ‘denied a complete, thorough and unimpeded investigation into the crash’.
Her two sons would soon spend their fourth Father’s Day without their dad, she said.
‘Once again there will be an empty seat at the table, a constant reminder of all that has been taken from us,’ she said.
Senior defence counsel David Edwardson KC worked hard during the trial to focus blame on Mr Robinson, who was painted as a cocaine-trafficking ‘party animal’.
Mr Edwardson accused Mr Robinson, his mother and two brothers of colluding when they gave evidence Wright asked at the injured pilot’s hospital bedside for him to falsify flying hours.
Their aim, he alleged, was to put the focus on Wright in order to avoid serious charges against Mr Robinson.
Mr Robinson’s brother Zac Chellingworth also read a statement from the pilot saying the verdicts brought some closure for the family ‘but the scars of the defendant’s conduct are huge and permanent’.
Mr Robinson said the trauma for his family had been relentless as he learned to live in a wheelchair, the wounds made worse by the defendant’s cover-up and failure to tell the truth.
‘I also faced a malicious and sustained campaign of lies aimed at destroying my reputation and that of my family. The jury saw the truth.’