The charges against a South Kempsey woman accused of being an accessory after the fact to the alleged murder of David Vale have been dropped.
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Emergency services were called to Robert Eggins Street, South Kempsey where David Vale, 39, was found with stab wounds in the late evening of March 1, 2023. Paramedics treated Mr Vale but he died at the scene.
A 48-year-old Kempsey man Conrad Peter Lardner was later arrested and charged with Mr Vale's murder.
It had been previously alleged in court that South Kempsey woman Veronica Leanne Holten, 29, had driven Lardner to Burnt Bridge after an altercation between Lardner and Mr Vale.
Holten had been charged with being an accessory after the fact to the alleged murder.
Another South Kempsey woman, Leearna Nicole Davis, 32 was facing the same charge.
Holten was not required to appear in Kempsey Local Court when her matter was mentioned before Magistrate Juliana Crofts on Wednesday, May 1.
Representative for the Office of the Director of Public Prosecutions (ODPP) told the court the director had decided to withdraw Holten's charge.
Magistrate Crofts withdrew and dismissed the charge. Holten's bail has been extinguished and she is clear of all charges.
Co-accused
Davis appeared in Kempsey Local Court via video link on the same day, facing two charges, both accusing Davis of being an accessory after the fact.
The first charge was withdrawn and dismissed, however the second charge has been committed to the Supreme Court.
The matter will return to Kempsey Local Court on June 19.
Emily Walker
Reporter at Macleay Argus and Port Macquarie News.
Reporter at Macleay Argus and Port Macquarie News.
