Two brothers have been committed to stand trial over the alleged murder of 23-year-old Chloe Jade Mason, after a witness told a court she saw a crying woman being shot in a driveway in Caboolture, north of Brisbane.
Mason died from gunshot wounds days before Christmas in 2024. Marsden meat worker Codye Ian Thomson, 31, and Caboolture plasterer Kaine Raymond Thomson-Gleeson, 33, have both been charged with murder.
Doris Jones told Caboolture Magistrates Court on Tuesday that she was in bed shortly before midnight on December 21 when screams woke her. Looking from her window, she saw two men dragging a woman along the street, about 50 metres away.
One of the men was armed with a machete, the court heard. Ms Jones said the woman was crouched between them and crying as the group moved towards her home.
“I could not see the faces — I just saw two men; one from behind and one from the front,” she said.
Ms Jones said she heard a gunshot after the woman tried to escape. She then heard further shots before seeing the woman fall in front of her window.
Another witness, Deborah McDonald, told the court she was leaving a tavern when she heard what she initially believed were firecrackers.
“I heard a couple of pops. I thought it was firecrackers,” she said. “I heard the lady scream.”
Ms McDonald said she was about 100 metres away, had been affected by alcohol and left quickly because she was frightened.
Ethan James Preston, who was living at the home where the incident began, said he was not there at the time. Under questioning from Thomson’s barrister, Jack Kennedy, he said he had never seen Mason with a gun.
Mr Preston withdrew parts of an earlier statement to police, saying he had been experiencing “drug psychosis” at the time.
Robert Cornwall also gave evidence about statements he made to police suggesting Mason had a gun or ammunition, but said he was no longer certain about those claims.
“I was fried off my guts … using meth,” he said.
Ken Mackenzie, the solicitor for Thomson-Gleeson, has previously claimed outside court that his client acted in response to an armed threat from Mason.
Magistrate Wood committed both men to stand trial in the Brisbane Supreme Court on the murder charge. Neither entered a plea or wished to make a statement in response when asked.
There were no applications for bail, and the brothers were returned to custody. Supporters in court blew kisses to them during the committal hearing.
