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Attending the trial of Netflix personality Matt Wright at Darwin’s Supreme Court, the wives and partners associated with the Northern Territory’s crocodile industry showcased a daily display of fashion.
Inside, the court heard extraordinary stories of men who wrangle giant saltwater crocodiles and fly helicopters in remote northern Australia.
Wright, known for his role as the Outback Wrangler, faced trial related to the 2022 helicopter incident that led to Chris ‘Willow’ Wilson’s death and left pilot Sebastian Robinson with paralysis.
He faced allegations of misleading crash investigators regarding the helicopter’s fuel levels, attempting to persuade Mr. Robinson to alter flight records, and requesting a friend to ‘destroy’ the helicopter’s maintenance documentation.
On Friday, the Supreme Court jury in Darwin convicted him on the first two charges, but they were unable to reach a decision on the third allegation about the maintenance document destruction.
Throughout the four-week trial, the partners and spouses of the central figures turned up daily, impeccably dressed despite the 31°C winter temperatures in Darwin.
Wright’s glamorous wife, Kaia, was regularly seen in designer outfits, always carrying her signature $5,000 Goyard bag.
Her ensembles included a cream H&M waistcoat, navy trousers, high-heeled sandals, and a $1,120 Hermes enamel bracelet.
On the fourth day of Matt Wright’s trial, the Outback Wrangler appeared alongside his wife Kaia, who was stylishly dressed in a vest from The Stars Outside The City valued at $800, a white Hermes enamel bracelet worth $1120, Alaia ballet flats costing $1200, and carrying a $5000 Goyard tote bag.
Kaia Wright dressed in a cream H&M suit waistcoat and navy trousers with high-heeled sandals, wearing her $1120 Hermes enamel bracelet and carrying her Goyard tote
Dani Wilson, the widow of crocodile egg collector Chris ‘Willow’ Wilson, who died in the 2022 fatal chopper crash is at the centre of Matt Wright’s trial, arrives at Darwin Supreme Court
On the trial’s first day, Kaia and Wright wore matching beige trousers, with Wright donning a white shirt and tie and Kaia pairing hers with a black turtleneck top.
The next day, former model Kaia teamed a pair of Scanlan Theodore tan leather trousers with a sleeveless black turtleneck top.
Other outfits have included a cream H&M suit waistcoat and navy trousers with high-heeled sandals and a sleeveless denim mini dress.
On the second day of evidence from helicopter pilot Seb Robinson, who was left paralysed by the crash, Kaia appeared head-to-toe in designer gear.
She walked into court wearing an $800 vest by The Stars Outside The City, an $1120 white Hermes enamel bangle and Alaia $1200 ballet flat shoes.
After court, she often met up with her friend Jade Burbidge, wife of chief helicopter pilot Michael Keith Burbidge, who also gave evidence.
In quiet contrast, Dani Wilson, widow of Chris ‘Willow’ Wilson, attended every day carrying a simple Laura Jones laptop tote.
For the opening submissions, Dani wore a black shirt, black jeans, and RM Williams boots.
Kaia also teamed a pair of Scanlan Theodore tan leather trousers with a sleeveless black turtleneck top and carried her Goyard tote
On the trial’s first day, Kaia and husband Matt wore matching beige pants, the Outback Wrangler wearing a tie as a mark of respect to the court
Dani Wilson, who lost her husband in the 2022 fatal crash, turned up for the trial’s first day of submissions dressed in a black shirt and jeans, and a pair of RM Williams boots
And that style was maintained, with Dani favouring jeans, T-shirts, and understated blouses, once arriving in a mid-blue silk satin collarless shirt tucked into her jeans.
Wright was freed on bail ahead of his sentencing in October and pending an appeal against his convictions.
He also faces a civil case brought against him and the Civil Aviation Safety Authority by Dani Wilson over her husband’s death.
After the jury handed down its verdicts on Friday, Wright came under a two-pronged attack from Dani and Mr Robinson, the injured pilot.
Ms Wilson told reporters outside court Wright had attempted to pervert the course of justice and in doing so ‘denied a complete, thorough and unimpeded investigation into the crash’.
Her two sons would soon spend their fourth Father’s Day without their dad, she said.
‘Once again there will be an empty seat at the table, a constant reminder of all that has been taken from us,’ she said.
Senior defence counsel David Edwardson KC worked hard during the trial to focus blame on Mr Robinson, who was painted as a cocaine-trafficking ‘party animal’.
Pilot Seb Robinson (left) lost the use of his legs in the 2022 crash, while Chris ‘Willow’ Wilson (right) lost his life while suspended in a crocodile egg-collecting sling beneath the helicopter
Zac Chellingworth (left), the brother of injured pilot Sebastian Robinson, hugs family members outside the Supreme Court in Darwin
The crash occurred during a crocodile-egg collecting trip in Arnhem Land in Northern Territory
Mr Edwardson accused Mr Robinson, his mother and two brothers of colluding when they gave evidence Wright asked at the injured pilot’s hospital bedside for him to falsify flying hours.
Their aim, he alleged, was to put the focus on Wright in order to avoid serious charges against Mr Robinson.
Mr Robinson’s brother Zac Chellingworth also read a statement from the pilot saying the verdicts brought some closure for the family ‘but the scars of the defendant’s conduct are huge and permanent’.
Mr Robinson said the trauma for his family had been relentless as he learned to live in a wheelchair, the wounds made worse by the defendant’s cover-up and failure to tell the truth.
‘I also faced a malicious and sustained campaign of lies aimed at destroying my reputation and that of my family. The jury saw the truth.’
