Age-gap couple, 47 and 21, continued to send texts from murder victim's phone to his family in a chilling echo of Netflix drama You – after he was beaten to death for calling housemate a 'paedo dog'
- Age gap couple sent texts from murder victim's phone to cover their tracks
- Ian Rosewall and Renae Lorraine Donald faced court over death of housemate
- Rosewall was hanging curtains with Tyson Timothy Clark-Robertson in July 2016
- After remark from Mr Clark Robertson, Rosewall allegedly hit him with hammer
A couple sent texts from a murder victim's phone to his family to cover up the death - in a chilling echo of Netflix drama You - after their housemate was allegedly bludgeoned with a hammer.
Ian Rosewall, 47, and partner Renae Lorraine Donald, 21, faced court over the death of 24-year-old Tyson Timothy Clark-Robertson at a Launceston home in Tasmania in 2016.
Crown prosecutor John Ransom told the Supreme Court during sentencing submission that Rosewall and Mr Clark-Robertson were putting up makeshift curtains at their Mitchell Street property in Mayfield on July 20, ABC reported.
Ian Rosewall, 47 (left), and partner Renae Lorraine Donald, 21 (right), faced court over the death of 24-year-old Tyson Timothy Clark-Robertson at a Launceston home in Tasmania in 2016
Crown prosecutor John Ransom told the Supreme Court during sentencing submission that Rosewall and Mr Clark-Robertson (pictured) were putting up makeshift curtains at their Mitchell Street property in Mayfield on July 20
The court heard the pair had been drinking alcohol and smoking cannabis when Mr Clark-Robertson told Rosewall to 'get me another cone, you paedo dog.'
'Mr Rosewall said he lost it, he picked up a hammer and struck Mr Tyson Clark-Robertson,' Mr Ransom said.
Mr Clark-Robertson is believed to have been struck in the head up to five times and his body kept in a garden shed for days before he was buried in the backyard.
Nine months would pass before his body would be discovered in a shallow grave.
Donald - who had been in a previous 18-month relationship with Mr Clark-Robertson - and Rosewall posed as the deceased and use his phone and Facebook account to cover their tracks, the crown said.
Donald allegedly texted Mr Clark-Robertson's father Tim between July 2016 to February 2017.
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Included in the texts were requests for money and claims that Donald had become pregnant with twins and that the deceased was the father.
The case mirrors hit Netflix series You in which a psychopath stalker murders a love rival and sends texts to their family to make it seem like they are still alive.
The pair also withdrew Mr Clark-Robertson's disability support pension, before they pretended to catch up with the deceased to give him the cash.
'It's the state's case that Ms Donald and Mr Rosewall embarked on a joint and sophisticated strategy to prevent the murder being discovered by police or Tyson Clark-Robertson's family,' Mr Ransom said.
In a victim impact statement read to court, the father of Mr Clark-Robertson said he had been diagnosed with post-traumatic stress disorder after finding out his son had died
The pair were only discovered after the dad became suspicious of the messages and contacted police.
In a victim impact statement read to court, Mr Clark-Robertson's father said he had been diagnosed with post-traumatic stress disorder after finding out his son had died.
Mr Ransom said Donald is not believed to have played a role in the murder or the burial and only assisted in the cover-up.
'It's the state's case that Ms Donald assisted Ian Rosewall in trying to cover up by firstly lying to police about Tyson Clark-Robertson's whereabouts,' Mr Ransom said
Rosewall pleaded guilty to murder and Donald pleaded guilty to being an accessory after the fact of murder.
Mr Ransom noted Rosewall admitted to his actions to a Risdon Prison psychologist last year.
He said he would have given CPR to the man if he knew how to do it and didn't report the death because of a warrant out for his arrest.
Defence lawyers for Donald and Rosewall are yet to make sentencing submissions.
Adjournments were requested to give time to prepare mental health reports.
A couple sent texts from a murder victim's phone to his family to cover up the death - in a chilling echo of Netflix drama You - after their housemate was allegedly bludgeoned with a hammer
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