00:00Just 24 hours after being extradited to Darwin by police,
00:06today Peter Scammell walked out of court,
00:09granted bail while he awaits his trial for murder.
00:13Mr Scammell is charged over the death of his former partner Katrina Hawker,
00:18a nurse who worked at Royal Darwin Hospital.
00:21She was found dead in the backyard of their Bakewell home five years ago.
00:25The cause of death put down to an overdose
00:27from the combined effects of alcohol and temazepam, a sleeping medication.
00:33At an inquest last year,
00:34Coroner Elizabeth Armitage said she didn't believe Miss Hawker would take her own life
00:39and referred the case back to police for further investigation.
00:43In court today, defence lawyer Richard Bryson argued his client
00:47had known about the investigation for months
00:49and while he'd had every opportunity to,
00:52hadn't run because he has no intention to.
00:55Mr Bryson told the court Mr Scammell had been travelling Australia
00:59with his new partner in an RV and couldn't be described as a flight risk.
01:03He'd even taken overseas trips.
01:06He told the court his client had been traumatised since Miss Hawker's death
01:10and hadn't been able to get a job since.
01:14Prosecutor Nicole Popper opposed bail,
01:16but accepted there was nothing about Mr Scammell's conduct to date
01:20that would suggest he was a flight risk.
01:22Darwin local court judge Sally Oslins ultimately agreed,
01:26releasing Mr Scammell on a number of conditions,
01:29including a $2,000 bail bond
01:31and a requirement to wear an ankle monitor.
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