Jarryd Hayne verdict: how taxi driver became key witness in former NRL player’s rape trial

When taxi driver Helen Morel arrived at a house in Newcastle on the last night of NRL in 2018, she was told she would have to transport someone to Sydney for the lucrative fee of $550.

She turned to see Jarryd Hayne sitting in the back of her cab, drinking a four-pack Vodka Cruiser on his lap.

Ms Morel was a key witness during Hayne’s 11-day trial, which led to him being found guilty of two counts of sexual assault.

Hayne faces up to 14 years in prison after the jury accepted that a then 26-year-old woman did not consent to him performing oral and digital sex on her in the Fletcher home she shared with her mother.

The attack occurred after Hayne stopped at the woman’s house on her way back to Sydney after two days of partying and drinking with friends at a money party.

Ms Morel told the court she collected Hayne from the New Lambton house where much of the money was held, waited outside the house for 46 minutes while the attack took place and finally drove him to Sydney.

The taxi’s presence proved crucial, with the woman – who cannot be identified for legal reasons – insisting she refused to give permission because he had a lift waiting to take him back to Sydney.

After being pointed out the job, Mrs. Morel set out to collect Hayne, where his former teammate Kane Evans was negotiating the price with the taxi driver.

She told the court that Hayne paid the $550 upfront as soon as he got into the cab.

Mrs. Morel began her journey while Hayne sat in the back of his Vodka Cruiser drinking.

But he quickly told her to take a detour and stop at a house in Fletcher to “pick up a bag.”

The taxi driver said it was fine as the house was not far from the M3 and Hayne guided her using the GPS system on his phone.

She noticed he was calling “quite a bit” before arriving at the house, assuring her it would only be a few minutes.

When Hayne entered the house, Mrs. Morel told the court that he had placed an empty bottle on the letter box.

“It was a half-empty mixed drink bottle,” she said.

While waiting for Hayne, Mrs. Morel texted a colleague, estimating that she had been waiting about “half an hour or a little more maybe.”

As time passed, she grew more and more impatient, wondering why Hayne hadn’t appeared.

Crown Prosecutor John Sfinas told the court the victim said she was first alerted to the taxi’s presence when she heard Mrs Morel on her horn.

But in her evidence, Mrs. Morel had no memory.

“Someone said that, but I don’t remember doing that,” she told the jury.

“It’s not something I would normally do, but sometimes I have to, I don’t remember.”

As time passed, Mrs. Morel grew more and more impatient, wondering why Hayne had not appeared.

Finally, she knocked on the door, spoke to the victim’s mother, and asked to speak to Hayne.

“I asked her if Jarryd was coming soon or ready to go, or something like that,” Ms Morel told the jury.

She said she felt “annoyed or frustrated” about wanting to get to Sydney and back to Newcastle.

“A few minutes later he leaned through the car window and said it would be a few more minutes because his bag hadn’t arrived,” she continued.

Hayne eventually returned and they continued to Sydney.

Hayne was sentenced after the court was told that when he returned to the woman’s room, he engaged in oral and digital sex with her, despite her telling “stop” several times.

On the drive to Sydney, Hayne asked the driver to stop at a gas station so he could buy a phone charger.

She eventually dropped Hayne off in Alexandria, central Sydney, where he was to attend a function.