Geraldton police officer accused of shooting Aboriginal woman JC in Karloo ready to stand trial

The WA policeman who was the first serving officer to be charged with murder in almost 100 years after he fatally shot an Aboriginal woman outside her home is ready to stand trial later this year. The first class constable, whose identity is subject to strict suppression orders, is accused of murdering the woman, whose family wants her to be known as JC for cultural reasons. JC was shot dead outside her Karloo home in September 2019. The officer appeared briefly in the Supreme Court today where Director of Public Prosecutions Amanda Forrester SC and the officer’s defence counsel Linda Black both confirmed the case was ready for trial in October. On the night of her death, relatives had called triple-0 because they were concerned for her welfare. Witnesses told police JC had been holding a knife when she was shot. She had been released from jail about three weeks earlier having originally been arrested for stealing a mobile phone from a house and then setting fire to her cell. The officer’s bail was renewed until the first day of his trial.