WANGARATTA woman Nicole Rhodes says she was urged by the family of a man accused of fleeing a fatal crash not to talk to anyone about what she knew.
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Early on June 21, 2008, a “crying and hysterical” Kenneth “Kenny” Ritchens turned up on Ms Rhodes’ doorstep, confessing he “accidentally” killed someone, Wangaratta Magistrates Court heard yesterday.
According to extracts of Ms Rhodes’ statement read out at Ritchens’ committal hearing, the accused told her “the car is out of town but I don’t where, I’ve just run 15 kilometres to see you”.
When Ms Rhodes asked him, “Have you crashed?”, Ritchens answered, “Yes”.
“He was bawling his eyes out. I knew there was more because he doesn’t care about possessions,” Ms Rhodes told police.
“(He said) ‘I’ve accidentally ... killed someone, Nicole’.”
Ms Rhodes said she later accompanied Ritchens to his parents’ home, where they met his mother, Julie Ritchens.
The court was told the three then went to the police station together where Ritchens gave police a statement saying his car had been stolen.
When they got back to his parents’ house, Ms Rhodes said she was told her knowledge of the accident “didn’t need to go any further”.
“It was going to be sorted out and I didn’t need to worry about it or talk to anyone about it,” Ms Rhodes told the court.
Ritchens, 31, is accused of being behind the wheel of his car when it was crashed, killing Whorouly man Chris Power, 40.
Investigators allege Ritchens fled the scene and fabricated the story that his car had been stolen by Mr Power.
Ms Rhodes was a reluctant witness at Ritchens’ committal hearing yesterday, telling the court in response to questioning by Ritchens’ solicitor that she felt “pressured” to give evidence.
Crying during her testimony, she said she believed she could face charges for perverting the course of justice over the alleged incident.
