Investigators believe an apparent drug deal ended in a murder nearly two years ago at a Rent A Space self-storage facility in Padstow, Australia. Suspects Glen McNamara, 56, and Roger Rogerson, 72, are on trial for the May 2014 murder of Jamie Gao, 20, and video-camera footage of activity around unit 803 is central to the prosecution’s case, according to the source.
Jurors this week were shown 90 minutes of close-circuit television footage from various locations around Sydney that prosecutors say connect McNamara and Rogerson to the crime. Both men have pleaded “not guilty” in the case and are expected to pin the murder on each other, the source reported.
Security footage recorded at the self-storage facility the day before Gao was killed by two gun shots to his chest allegedly shows Rogerson driving to Rent A Space and removing furniture from unit 803. Investigators believe Rogerson was preparing for a meeting the following day in which Gao was allegedly supposed to bring 2.78 kilograms of the drug ice.
On May 20, 2014, video shows a white Ford Falcon driving away from McNamara’s apartment. Prosecutors believe the vehicle was used to remove Gao’s body from the storage unit. Footage from the storage facility shows Gao and McNamara entering the unit, followed by Rogerson three minutes later, the source reported.
Later footage shows McNamara removing a silver surfboard bag from the Falcon and taking it inside the unit. McNamara and Rogerson are later seen removing the bag from the unit and placing it in the car, according to the source. Prosecutors believe Gao was murdered inside the unit and then placed in the surfboard cover.
Rogerson’s attorney George Thomas has indicated Rogerson will testify that Gao was shot by McNamara before he walked into the unit and found Gao dead on the floor with a gun by his side, the source reported.
Investigators say video footage from a Kennards Self Storage facility shows both suspects later that day purchasing a 2-ton chain block before returning to McNamara’s apartment. The next day, the Falcon was captured on video leaving a parking facility with a boat in tow. An object wrapped in a blue tarp inside the boat is visible in the footage, according to the source.
Prosecutors believe the suspects dumped Gao’s body at sea about 2.5 kilometers off Shelly Beach, about a 90-minute drive from Padstow. The victim’s body was found six days later zipped inside a surfboard bag and wrapped in a blue tarp, the source reported.
When police inspected the Rent A Space storage unit on May 24, it was bare, detective Sgt. Aaron Phillips told the jury.
The trial is ongoing.
