Singer Ricki Lee Coulter at a music awards ceremony in 2006 with Aaron Crawford. Photo / Getty Images
Singer Ricki Lee Coulter at a music awards ceremony in 2006 with Aaron Crawford. Photo / Getty Images
The two Kiwi men accused of murdering Gold Coast man Greg Dufty are relations of Auckland-born Aussie pop star Ricki Lee Coulter.
Aaron Crawford was yesterday extradited from New Zealand, arriving at Brisbane Airport on Qantas Flight QF126 late in the afternoon before being taken away to be charged withthe murder of 37-year-old father, Mr Dufty, the Gold Coast Bulletin reported.
Crawford was arrested in Auckland at the weekend and an extradition order was granted yesterday. He will appear in court in Brisbane on charges of murder and interfering with a corpse.
Greg Dufty went missing three months ago. His body has not been found.
Crawford first made headlines back in 2008 when he appeared online in X-rated photos. He is a cousin of Coulter and had attended a red carpet event with Coulter two years earlier.
When the pornographic photos were published he was wrongly identified in a photo as Coulter's husband.
The Bulletin reported that after the incident Crawford lost contact with Coulter. The singer's management company did not reply to requests for comment.
Crawford's cousin Lionel Patea, 24, is also facing charges of murdering Mr Dufty and interfering with a corpse. Patea and Coulter are also related.
It is the second murder charged laid against Patea. He allegedly murdered his estranged partner Tara Brown on the Gold Coast last month.
New Zealand-born Tara brown was found bludgeoned to death. Photo / Supplied
Patea allegedly followed Ms Brown, who had broken off their relationship and had a protection order against him, and ran her car off the road as she returned from dropping their young daughter off at daycare.
He allegedly bashed her around the head with a cast-iron metal plate that had come loose from a footpath hydrant.
Her injuries were not survivable
Queensland police said yesterday that Mr Dufty has not been seen since July.
Patea is already in custody and will appear in Southport Magistrates Court on November 11.
A former bikie, Patea has links to the Bandidos gang, but police say this affiliation is not connected to the alleged murder.
Detective Inspector Dave Hutchinson said Mr Dufty's family had been notified of the arrests and the search continued for his body.
"We've got some ideas but it's fair to say at this time we don't know where the body is and we haven't been able to locate it," Mr Hutchinson said.
"Certainly, we would dearly love to be able to locate the body and we would still make that public appeal; the fact that somebody's been charged makes no difference. We still believe there are people out there that know where the body is."
THE MURDER OF GREG DUFTY:
Police allege Patea, a former Banditos gang member, annd Crawford were contracted to look after a drug debt owed by Mr Dufty. He was last seen on July 6.
Security camera footage shows Mr Dufty parking his hired utility at a seafood restaurant at Ashmore before being picked up by a Mack truck nearby, the Gold Coast Bulletin reported.
Sources told the newspaper Mr Dufty racked up the debt after meeting a group of men at a rugby club but was unable to pay it back.
Mr Dufty's body has never been found.Patea's lawyer, Campbell McCallum, said his client denied the charges.
WHO IS RICKI- LEE COULTER:
• Australian singer, songwriter, television and radio presenter • She was born in Auckland, New Zealand, grew up on the Gold Coast, Queensland and began performing at the age of 15 • In 2004, she auditioned for the second season of Australian Idol placing 7th
