Grim new details emerge about the alleged murder on a dating app where the teacher was ‘killed in her bed’ before the trafficker ‘jumped out the window and had a tense confrontation with police on the cliff’
- Tradie Ashley Gaddie, 33, accused of inflicting grisly head wounds
- Danielle Finlay Jones, 31, was found dead in December
- Pair had just started dating after meeting on the app, Bumble
A beloved teacher who was allegedly murdered by her Bumble date was found dead in bed, with horrific head wounds, it is alleged in court.
Ashley Gaddie, 33, was represented by his lawyer at Penrith local court in western Sydney on Friday, more than two months after he allegedly killed 31-year-old Danielle Finlay-Jones.
Police allege that Gaddie and Ms Finlay-Jones had recently met through dating app Bumble when they met on December 17 and spent the night with her friends.
The pair then returned to the home of Mrs Finlay-Jones’s friends in Cranebrook, where Gaddie allegedly killed his date sometime before 2:30pm on December 18 before fleeing the scene through the windscreen, according to police allegations.
Her friends, who believed the couple were sleeping in, discovered the teacher in a bloodied state when they checked in with her at 2:30 pm.
Tradesman Ashley Gaddie has been charged with the murder of young teacher Dannielle Finlay-Jones
Teacher and football enthusiast Dannielle Finlay-Jones reportedly murdered on December 18 at a house in western Sydney
Gruesome new details about the alleged crime were aired in court on Friday as police pursued an application for his DNA.
According to police facts filed in court, she was reportedly lying alone in bed with horrific head injuries.
Emergency services were called to the scene, but they pronounced the 31-year-old dead on arrival.
After three days of investigation by specialist agents, Mr Gaddie was arrested shortly after midnight on December 21 in the NSW Blue Mountains.
Police cornered the Five Dock resident at Fletcher’s Lookout, where he was standing on the edge of the cliff.
He was arrested at midnight after a dramatic 12-hour confrontation with officers at the precarious location.
Pictured: The house in Cranebrook where Dannielle Finlay-Jones was found dead on Dec. 18. The police assume that Gaddie killed her and then fled through the front window
Police allege that Gaddie and Ms Finlay-Jones met through a dating app
On Friday, the court was told that police had filed an application to use a DNA sample from Gaddie as admissible evidence.
Although he did not agree, the forensic swab was taken shortly before Christmas to preserve the “transient” nature of the sample.
Gaddie’s attorney Diane Elston and police were scheduled to discuss the forensic application before Magistrate George Zdenkowski on Friday, but that fell through.
“It could be that (the police’s application for DNA) goes unopposed,” Ms Elston told the court.
“I had very candid conversations with the duty officer this morning and I think it probably won’t take much time for the trial.”
The public prosecutor and the sergeant of the police agreed to the postponement of eight weeks.
Mr. Zdenkowski adjourned the case until April 28.
Gaddie will remain in pre-trial detention until the next court date.
He has been behind bars since December last year.
Police are photographed at the Cranebrook home in December