An Adelaide man was allegedly stripped and subjected to “deliberate, systematic series of assaults and pain inflicted” before he died in a suspected murder, a court has heard.
Key points:
- Robert Atkins was reported missing in 2021
- One man has been charged with murder while four others also face charges linked to Mr Atkins’s disappearance
- Mr Atkins’s body is yet to be found
Sean Clive Phypers, 32, appeared in the Adelaide Magistrates Court via video link from Yatala Labour Prison after being charged with the murder of Robert Atkins.
Cameron Lachlan Stuart, Clinton Arthur Turvey, Mikhael Joseph Brereton and a 25-year-old woman — whose identity is suppressed — were charged with unlawfully detaining Mr Atkins, among other offences.
All five — who were arrested as part of a Taskforce Southern investigation into the deaths of Mr Atkins and two other men — remain in custody.
The court was told that the co-accused played active parts in Mr Atkins’s alleged murder.
Police will allege Mr Atkins was detained against his will for more than a week in November 2020 before his body was dumped in the state’s Mid North.
The court was also given details about Mr Atkins’s last days, where the victim was assaulted repeatedly at Mr Brereton’s Christie Downs residence.
Police prosecutor Stuart Rees told the court “deliberate, systematic series of assaults and pain” were inflicted on Mr Atkins, including being struck with a torch and frying pan, and he was stripped of his clothing.
Money was being taken from Mr Atkins’s bank account and transferred into the co-accused’s accounts while he was being held, the court was told.
Mr Atkins was last seen alive in Port Pirie on November 16, 2020, the court was told.
His body is yet to be found.
Mr Brereton applied for bail, but was denied on the ground of being a possible flight risk, the ability to interfere with evidence as well as with witnesses fearing for their safety.
He will face court again later this month, while his four co-accused will return to court in October.
Prosecutors will use the next few months to collect evidence, transcribe 700 hours of telephone conversations and examine witness statements and videos.
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