Hugs and tears shared between mother and son as Central West murder verdict returned

Stephen Shane Greenfield, 42, was acquitted of murder in Bathurst Supreme Court on July 5, 2024.

After hearing five weeks of evidence, the 10-person jury took eight days to come to a unanimous verdict.

Greenfield was accused of murdering Reginald Mullaly, 68, between September 16 and September 21, 2015.

Mr Mullaly's body was found underneath the Denison Bridge in Bathurst on September 20, and was later discovered to have suffered 11 stab wounds.

Greenfield pleaded not guilty to the charge on May 5, 2023.

The jury pored over the evidence of the trial, which included statements from witnesses, friends of Greenfield and experts.

The prosecution's case relied on the jury accepting evidence from Greenfield's ex-girlfriend, Vanessa Strong, and claims that Greenfield had insider knowledge into the death of Mr Mullaly because he was responsible.

The defence said there were three fundamental roadblocks that would prevent a verdict of guilty - insignificant evidence, truth in Greenfield's denials, and the possibility that someone else is responsible.

The jury were taken to Greenfield's interview with police on September 24, 2015, where, for two hours, he denied being involved in Mr Mullaly's death.

"I know I'm innocent, I know I've done nothing wrong," Greenfield said.

Expert evidence touched on at various points throughout the trial concluded that there was no DNA evidence tying Greenfield to the crime scene, or a crossover of his or Mr Mullaly's DNA on each other's belongings.

What was thought to be the alleged murder weapon - Greenfield's "Rambo III" hunting knife - was also deemed by expert pathologists as being too big to have caused Mr Mullaly's stab wounds.