Darren Ashley was in the drag racing scene wasn't he? There is a link.
If, Kharlie had a drug debt stated by the carer, why hasn't the carer detailed where the debt arrived from? Obviously the carer was close enough to provide further detail if he is going to speculate defamatory information of a deceased person? Why not provide the elaborated information. The carer must know who that debt was acquired from if he knows the debt existed.
Simply saying, She had a drug debt is defamatory
DA provides a bikie link too (remembering his supposed alibi for his wife's murder).
Perhaps the carer had heard of the drug debt/bounty second hand. Just a thought.
Or, perhaps he has provided the police with names. He may have also given the media names, but of course they cannot print them.
My own opinion, which I want to make clear I have no evidence at all for, is this:
I think the debt story was well known and, after the ID, everyone who had known Karlie was talking about it; or rather, they were whispering about it.
I think it was generally believed that this debt was the reason Karlie no longer went back to the Alice and why she didn't make contact with her mum or nana before they died.
I think her family and friends thought they were keeping K and K safe by their occasional deposits into her account and by misrepresentation to her credit union and social security.
I think the media got a sniff of the debt story and were desperate for someone to confirm it. They were busy contacting anyone who Karlie knew, but her immediate family were not commenting.
So I think it is quite plausible that, as the media trawled through the family, friends and connections, they asked "have you heard about the debt?"
Some might refuse to comment, some say "no", some say "yes" but won't give details.
Then eventually they come across the carer who, in my opinion foolishly, tells all he knows.
The media ask if he has told the police and he says, of course he has, and I imagine he assumes others have talked to the police about it too.
He doesn't need to be someone who knows that much about the debt. His only purpose in the eyes of the media was to confirm a rumour they were hearing and give it credence.
I do feel sorry for him though, as he clearly intended (and was probably promised) that he would remain anonymous. But then, by detailing his relationship to Connie and the brush with the law, his identity was revealed.
As you say Crabby, "Simply saying she had a drug debt is defamatory". But saying a close associate of the family confirms the rumour that she had a debt and saying that he has spoken to the police about it makes it publishable.
Another thing I wonder is whether the debt story grew legs after she was missing or before.
