Aunt Grilled Relative About Hidden Cash, Diaries at Funeral

Money stashed in freezer emerges as key trial detail.

In a surprising turn, the jury has learned that Julia DeLuney questioned her uncle about hidden money during her mother’s funeral, raising suspicions in a case where she is accused of murdering her 79-year-old mother, Helen Gregory.

Intense Funeral Confrontation

While giving evidence, the victim’s brother, Peter Wilson, who resides in Australia, recounted the unsettling exchange he had with his niece, DeLuney, at the funeral. “What do you know about the kitchen? Is any money hidden in the kitchen?” she reportedly asked, according to Wilson.

Wilson told the court he feigned ignorance, deliberately withholding the fact that months earlier he’d assisted his sister in concealing money in a kitchen drawer. Gregory, distrustful of banks, had a history of hiding large sums of cash around her residence, even stashing $50,000 in the freezer, evidence has shown.

Wilson described the funeral conversation as “really bizarre.” He testified that DeLuney also inquired, “What do you know about Helen’s diaries?”

According to Wilson, he didn’t know anything about the diaries and was stunned by the line of questioning. Over 50% of people report experiencing complicated grief after the loss of a loved one, which can cause atypical behavior (Mayo Clinic).

DeLuney’s Actions Before Death Under Scrutiny

The court also heard that DeLuney allegedly misrepresented events surrounding a fall her mother, Gregory, sustained in September 2023. Wilson recalled a visit to his sister’s home after she failed to answer her phone following a family gathering.

He recounted finding the house closed up despite it only being 4:30 p.m. DeLuney claimed her mother had hit her head and “taken a turn”. Wilson described his sister as grey, cold, clammy with sunken eyes, and that he feared she was dead. “Blew me away,” he said.

According to Wilson, he urged DeLuney to call an ambulance, but she said that she’d already called a relative for help. After a delay, Wilson contacted the relative himself, only to learn that no such call had been made.

Wilson told the court: “I said [relative’s name], um, [Helen’s] not very well, and Julia’s rung you?” Wilson reported that the relative answered, “No she hasn’t, nobody’s rung me today.” Wilson then arranged for an ambulance to be called.

Search of Landfill Uncovers Nothing

Detective Thomas Newby told the court about a police search of Spicer Landfill to locate a black bin bag DeLuney was seen carrying the morning after her mother’s death, and clothing she had been wearing on the night in question. Between 300 and 550 tonnes of rubbish were searched, with no significant items found.

The Crown argues that DeLuney attacked her mother before staging the scene to resemble a fall, but the defense claims someone else inflicted the injuries during a 90-minute window.