Vic: Jane's wife told lies for personal gain, court told
21 Jan 2009 12:24 PM
MELBOURNE, Jan 21 AAP - The wife of tyre magnate Bob Jane was motivated by personal gain when she told lies about a fight the couple had soon after they separated, a court has been told.
Laree Jane, 41, has pleaded not guilty in the Victorian County Court to assaulting, forcefully imprisoning and threatening to inflict serious injury on the Bob Jane T-Marts founder.
The argument, at the couple's South Yarra apartment in December 2006, happened about six weeks after the couple had separated. They have since divorced.
In her closing address to the jury on Wednesday, Crown prosecutor Susan Borg said Laree Jane could not be trusted as a witness.
"She is playing down what actually happened and her participation in it," Ms Borg said. "She is just not credible."
Ms Borg said a series of stressful events, including the break-up of the couple's marriage and the illness of their daughter, led Jane to act violently.
The accused's lawyer Philip Dunn, QC, questioned Bob Jane's motives for going to police after he told a triple-0 operator that the matter had been resolved.
"Maybe rich and powerful men think differently to women, maybe they think wives revolve around money, power, prestige and control," Mr Dunn said.
He said it was Bob Jane's evidence that could not be trusted.
On Monday, the court was told that during a heated domestic argument, Laree Jane waved a knife at the tyre magnate and told him she had a gun and was going to shoot him.
Closing addresses, before Judge Lisa Hannan, are continuing.
