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Woman was 'follower' of murder co-accused

A woman charged with the murder of an autistic teenager admits she "possibly" knew what would happen after luring him to her serial killer-obsessed co-accused.

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Source: AAP


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A 43-year-old woman all but admitted to WA Police she knew her serial killer-obsessed housemate would murder autistic teenager Aaron Pajich after she lured him to their home.

Trudi Lenon and her housemate Jemma Lilley, 26, had been friends for about four months and had lived together for a fortnight when they allegedly killed the 18-year-old at their Orelia house in June last year.

One week later, he was found in a shallow grave in their backyard, covered with concrete and tiles.

Lenon admitted being an accessory, which prosecutors rejected, and the pair are now into the third week of their Supreme Court murder trial.

Mr Pajich was a friend of Lenon's 13-year-old son, but he was a stranger to Lilley, who denies involvement in his death.

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In her first police interview, Lenon initially denied making arrangements to meet Mr Pajich but eventually admitted she'd "accidentally" called him, saying the pair picked him up so he could load games onto her son's computer as a surprise.

She claimed she and Lilley had naps in their rooms while he did so, waking to find him gone.

But in a second video recorded interview that was played to the jury on Tuesday, Lenon replied "yes" when Detective Sergeant Cameron Blaine asked if she had been "groomed" to deliver Mr Pajich to Lilley.

The jury previously heard Lilley was obsessed with murderers, had a large collection of knives and in messages with Lenon went by the name SOS, which was the main character in a book she had written about serial killing.

Lenon also agreed when Det Sgt Blaine said the book was about a murder cult, led by SOS, whose minions were called "maggots", and Lilley wanted to make it a reality.

"In her mind, were you one of her followers?" the detective asked.

Lenon replied: "I think so."

"I think she really thinks she's this SOS character.

"She has a lot of issues."

Lenon admitted "things were getting stranger" but also said she had "not seen the red flags".

"I didn't think she'd do it. I thought she was all talk," she said.

She said she had just "gone along" with Lilley, claiming she walked out of the room when the younger woman wrapped a garrotte around Mr Pajich's neck.

"I came back and she was on top of him with a knife," she said.

"I said 'what did you do?' And she said 'he's dead'.

"Then she made me help her clean everything up."

Lilley looked "like it was nothing", Lenon said.

"She had no emotion on her face."

Det Sgt Blaine told Lenon she had fulfilled her role as Lilley's "maggot" and she replied: "Mm-hmm".

"You contacted Aaron that morning, knowing what was likely to happen," he said.

"Possibly, yeah," she responded.

Lilley tattooed SOS on Lenon's forearm after the crime.


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