The criminal hearing into the operator of the jumping castle behind the Hillcrest tragedy has finished today after two weeks of evidence before a court filled with the victims' families. But the magistrate’s decision into whether the accused is guilty of the workplace safety charge won't be known until next year.
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00:0010 days of evidence at the Magistrate's Court in Devonport coming to an end.
00:07But the Magistrate's decision could be months away.
00:11Six children died and three were seriously hurt after a jumping castle was blown into
00:16the air at the Hillcrest Primary School in December 2021.
00:20The castle's operator, Rosemary Anne Gamble, trading as Taszorb, has pleaded not guilty
00:26to failing to comply with a health and safety duty.
00:29The Crown alleges she didn't adequately secure the castle, only tethering it at half of the
00:34eight anchors.
00:35While Ms Gamble's lawyer argues she only received four pegs from the manufacturer and
00:41took all reasonable steps she ought to have known to prevent what happened.
00:46Defence witnesses have told the court the wind gust was so southern and chaotic, the
00:51only thing that could have stopped the tragedy was not holding the end-of-year school event.
00:57The final evidence was delivered today by a geotechnical engineer called by the Defence.
01:03He said no steps would have prevented the castle from being uplifted.
01:06Over the hearing's 10 days, the court has heard from a wide range of witnesses, including
01:12the castle's manufacturer and experts in wind, soil and inflatables.
01:18It's also heard details of what children told police the day of the tragedy.
01:23Evidence evoked an emotional response from families who have cried, appeared angry and
01:28in disbelief and sometimes left the courtroom.
01:32While the evidence has concluded, these families will wait until at least February for a verdict,
01:38with the prosecution and the Defence submitting their closing arguments to the Magistrate
01:42early next year.