Paul Cohrs: Ex-deputy mayor accused of murdering mother refused bail

A former deputy mayor accused of murder allegedly killed his mother because he believed she covered up the murder of his father, a court has been told.

Police allege Paul Cohrs, 60, shot dead his mother Bette Cohrs-Schulz, 81, in Red Cliffs, near Mildura close to the NSW-Victoria border, in late 2018.

In refusing Mr Cohrs bail on Monday, Supreme Court of Victoria judge Paul Coghlan in his written reasons revealed the alleged motive.

Mr Cohrs believed his father had been murdered and his mother helped cover it up, Justice Coghlan said.

After he allegedly shot his mother, police say Mr Cohrs shot himself in the chest.

He allegedly left a note in a car glove box that spoke about his father, who died in 1984.

“The evidence clearly suggests it was (a man) that murdered him, and I believe my mother covered for him,” the note read.

The man’s name cannot be published for legal reasons.

Ms Cohrs-Schulz’s body was found by police on her kitchen floor about 1pm on October 30, 2018.

Mr Cohrs’ four-year-old grandson was allegedly in the house and had been put in another room before she was shot.

After he was found by police Mr Cohrs allegedly repeatedly said “I can’t believe I’m not dead” before being flown to hospital.

Mr Cohrs and his mother were also involved in long-term family business and property disputes, it was alleged.

Mr Cohrs, who was deputy mayor of Wentworth shire in NSW from 2012 to 2016, had not argued in court he didn’t pull the trigger but said he was driven to “temporary insanity”.

When applying for bail last week he told the Supreme Court of Victoria he could not adequately prepare his defence from inside prison.

He is representing himself and told the court he wouldn’t use Legal Aid because of a belief there is “bias” in the Victorian legal system.

He said he had lawyers in South Australia “ready and willing” but his finances had been frozen by a judge in a separate civil case.

He also argued he should be released on bail because of his health – after suffering a heart attack in prison – because he was of “good character” and his trial would be delayed because of COVID-19.

But Justice Coghlan on Monday refused his application for bail.

There was a risk Mr Cohrs could interfere with witnesses who could be called in the murder trial, including his estranged daughter — whose son was present in the house during the alleged murder — prosecutor Melissa Mahady argued.

The daughter was aligned against Mr Cohrs within the family, and Mr Cohrs expressly wrote in his alleged suicide note she shouldn’t get any of his assets, she said.

The daughter was among five people Mr Cohrs could interfere with if released into the community, she said.

Justice Coghlan said he did not see exceptional circumstances that would justify granting bail.

“I am satisfied that this is a particularly strong prosecution case for a very serious example of the crime of murder committed in the near presence of the victim’s four-year-old great-grandchild, his own grandchild,” he said.

“The applicant’s submission that he might have the defences of temporary insanity, ‘automaton’ (automatism) or defence of another seem, on the available material, to be quite unrealistic.

“I explained to the applicant that there is no defence of temporary insanity in Victoria.

“If I am wrong about exceptional circumstances I indicate that I am satisfied that the applicant is an unacceptable risk of committing further offences and/or endangering the safety or welfare of any person.”

ncG1vNJzZmivp6x7r7HWrGWcp51jrrZ7zZqroqeelrlwwsicq6iqmZZ8pLvUq6usZZyWxHCyzquknqpdmbKxwdOyZKaZqaS%2Fbq3CnKysnZRivKd5zK6pnZ2inruoecyoq6GdomK%2FprLUrJydZZKWtq17zZ6urGWjqbyzxY6bnJxvk5Z%2BcX2YnGuccGFqhXaxlHGcbZ1mmbBzhcKanQ%3D%3D