An Arizona man accused of communicating with an Australian family who carried out the deadly shooting at Wiemabilla, in Queensland, will face a delayed US trial due to his lawyer’s computer network being hacked.
Brothers Nathaniel and Gareth Train used high-powered rifles during an ambush to kill Constables Matthew Arnold and Rachel McCrow at the remote property in December 2022.
Arizona man Donald Day Jr, 60, was charged a year later in the US with making threats to public figures and FBI agents, and possessing illegal firearms.
Loading
US District Judge John Tuchi has now ordered the trial start date be pushed back from April 22 to September 15.
Tuchi had ruled in March that Queensland Police officers would be able to testify at the trial, after US prosecutors said their evidence was necessary to prove Day was serious when he made threats after the Wieambilla shootings.
Day’s lawyer Jon Sands then applied to Judge Tuchi for a pre-trial conference and the trial itself to be delayed.
Sands said the Federal Public Defender’s Office in Arizona had discovered ransomware affecting local file storage and data backup systems on its network.
“At this time, the office has no access to its network and, accordingly, staff are limited in the work they can do.”
Day entered pleas of not guilty to all charges in the Arizona District Court in May 2024 and has denied any involvement in the Wieambilla shootings.
Read the full article here
