The girlfriend of a man accused of shooting Wesley Prentice to death at Cooks Hill has pleaded not guilty to her role in the alleged murder and will face a trial in Newcastle District Court.
Jessica Clare Wright, now 37, of Charlestown, is accused of being with her boyfriend, Michael Thomas Rae, when he allegedly gunned down Mr Prentice, 40, in the lounge room of a unit in Darby Street about 12.45pm on July 22, 2021.
Ms Wright is accused of fleeing the unit with Mr Rae before the pair headed north to Bonny Hills, a small coastal town about 20 kilometres south of Port Macquarie, where Mr Rae was arrested by Homicide Squad detectives on August 1.
Ms Wright appeared in Newcastle Local Court on Wednesday where she pleaded not guilty to being an accessory after the fact to murder.
Ms Wright, who is on bail, will next appear in Newcastle District Court next month to get a trial date.
Mr Rae has pleaded not guilty to murder over Mr Prentice's death and will face a trial in Newcastle Supreme Court in April, 2024.
Mr Prentice, a 40-year-old from Rutherford known as "Wes", was couch surfing in the unit block. He allegedly became involved in a scuffle with Mr Rae over a drug debt before he was shot once in the chest at close range, according to court documents.
He died at the scene.
A short time later, police allege Mr Rae and Ms Wright ran to a blue four-wheel drive and, after collecting a significant amount of CCTV footage, police say they were able to track that vehicle to a home at Windale.
Crime scene officers also allegedly located DNA inside and outside of the unit that police say links Mr Rae to the shooting.
After Mr Prentice was shot, police allege Mr Rae and Ms Wright fled north and were staying at a caravan park in Bonny Hills. Mr Rae was arrested by police in a park in Beach Street about 5.45pm on August 1.
Two other people have pleaded guilty to their roles in concealing the alleged murder, including a woman who ordered someone else to destroy a CCTV camera who was jailed earlier this year for a maximum of 16 months.
