Woman convicted of kidnapping and drunk interrogation of mentally disturbed school teacher before escaping and being hit by truck
- Lauren Grainger was sentenced to 15 months in prison without parole
- She held teacher Anthony Stott against his will on February 10, 2020
- After her “drunken interrogation,” Mr. Stott was hit and killed by a lorry
A woman who bizarrely kidnapped a private school teacher for a “drunken, violent interrogation” will spend more than a year behind bars.
Northern NSW woman Lauren Grainger, 42, was sentenced on Tuesday to 15 months in prison without parole after a jury took less than two hours to convict her in September.
She was found guilty of holding Brisbane St Peters Lutheran College teacher Anthony Stott against his will at her property in Cudgera Creek just hours before he was hit and killed by a truck on the M1 Pacific Motorway on February 10, 2020.
Earlier that day, Mr Stott had acted erratically on his flight from Sydney back home to Brisbane after a trip in Peru.
He masturbated in flight while shouting obscenities.
Lauren Grainger (above) has been sentenced to 15 months in prison without parole for her role in the kidnapping and assault of a teacher
St Peters Lutheran College teacher Anthony Stott (above) was tied to a chair and beaten after entering Grainger’s home on February 10, 2020 – he was hit and killed by a lorry later that night
Later that day he was caught on two speed cameras going over the speed limit while traveling south on the M1, towards the property of Grainger and her former partner Mark Frost.
Mr Stott’s late night drive came to a sudden end when his BMW skidded off the road.
From there, he wandered onto Grainger’s property, where she claims she discovered him in her home with a knife and “goofy eyes.”
However, a judge later told the jury at Grainger’s trial that there was no evidence or fingerprints to indicate Mr Stott had the gun.
Prosecutor Josh Hanna said the schoolteacher was then “marched” to a shed and tied to a plastic chair while Grainger, Frost and friend Craig Button questioned him.
“Under the complete mistaken belief that he was there for sinister purposes, they restrained him, tied him up and conducted a drunken, violent interrogation over the ensuing hours,” Mr Hanna said. Courier Mail.
Mr Stott was caught on two speed cameras going over the speed limit while heading south on the M1 Pacific Motorway before his BMW (above) skidded off the road
Earlier that day, Mr Stott (above) had acted erratically by masturbating on a flight while shouting obscenities on a flight from Sydney back home to Brisbane after traveling in Peru
Frost and Button pleaded guilty to holding Mr Stott with intent to obtain information and received reduced sentences in exchange for testifying against Grainger.
Mr Stott was ‘interrogated’ and beaten – in part with a golf club – for several hours before being loaded onto a farm while still strapped to the chair.
He was driven for several miles and then returned to the Grainger property, where he was released.
Mr Stott then wandered from the site back onto the M1 Pacific Motorway where he was fatally hit by the semi-trailer.
Grainger’s lawyer claimed she had acted in self-defense in a ‘really scary situation’ when Mr Stott had entered her property untidy, barefoot and looking ‘like a junkie’.
Judge Jennifer English told the court Tuesday that Grainger had been an “inconclusive, unreliable witness” at her trial.
She said the 42-year-old had lied about Mr Stott being armed with a knife, whether she hit him with a golf club and how long he was held.
Grainger (above) was sentenced to two years and six months in prison and will be eligible for parole on June 4, 2024
“I couldn’t find her really remorseful,” Judge English said.
She added that Grainger’s co-defendant’s reduced sentence was “extremely lenient.”
However, she discovered that the trio were not responsible for what happened to Mr. Stott after he left their property.
Grainger was sentenced to two years and six months in prison. She is eligible for parole on June 4, 2024.
