A sexual relationsip between Tiahleigh Palmer and her foster brother was the catalyst for the 12-year-old’s tragic death, a court has heard.
A jury heard Trent Thorburn, then 18, had sex with Tiahleigh at least once in the lead-up to her death in late October 2015.
Police allege Thorburn’s father, and Tiahleigh’s foster dad, Richard Thorburn murdered the pre-teen six days before they found her body on the northern Gold Coast river in November 2015.
Crown prosecutor David Nardone said it was when Thorburn feared the schoolgirl was pregnant that he confessed to his mother Julene that he’d had sex with her.
“His confession to his mother was the catalyst for Tiahleigh’s murder,” Mr Nardone said.
The confession to his mother came after Thorburn admitted his sexual relationship with Tiahleigh over Facebook messenger to his cousin, the court heard.
However, following her death, Thorburn repeatedly denied having any sexual relationship with his foster sister to the police as well as denying knowing anything about the murder.
He maintained he had not had sex with her at a Crime and Corruption Commission (CCC) hearing in June 2016 and it wasn’t until his CCC hearing in September that he admitted to their sexual relationship.
During that hearing, Thorburn alleged Tiahleigh had been the one to initiate sex and he had been too drunk to reject her advances – a claim Judge Craig Chowdhury dismissed as “completely implausible”.
The 20-year-old is due to be sentenced on Thursday after pleading guilty to one count each of incest and attempting to pervert the course of justice and two counts of perjury.
Thorburn was bashed twice in prison after being accused of incest with the dead schoolgirl. He was allegedly assaulted by fellow inmates who were jeered on by a crowd taunting “pretty boy” and “kill him”.
