- Shannon Cox has been charged with two counts of manslaughter
- Cox, 38, was involved in a fatal car crash last month
- His original charge was upgraded by the court
A former AFL footballer has been charged twice after appearing in court over his role in a crash that killed two elderly women in Cooljarloo last month.
Shannon Cox, 38, was initially charged with two counts of dangerous driving causing death following a double fatal crash on June 7.
Thelma Clausen, 82, and Coral Seinor, 83, were killed when the car they were travelling in collided with a Toyota Prado and a road train with two trailers. The collision occurred on a road about 170 kilometres north of Perth, Western Australia.
Another passenger, a 12-year-old girl believed to be Cox’s daughter, was also in the Prado and suffered minor injuries. She was treated by paramedics at the scene of the crash.
On Monday afternoon it was confirmed that the two charges against him had been upgraded to manslaughter after he appeared in Geraldton District Court on the new charge of unlawful killing of another person, where the circumstances could not be characterised as murder.
The charge against Cox was upgraded after drug test results taken the day of the crash were analyzed, said police District Attorney Beau Jones.
Jones added that he opposed bail because he felt the manslaughter charge was brought after Cox had a history of offences related to “serious drug offences.”
His defence lawyer, Paul Holmes, argued that Cox, who played 25 games for Collingwood, had shown he could meet the bail requirement and that although the charges had been upgraded, they were the same charges for which he had previously been granted bail.
Shannon Cox was charged in court Monday with two counts of manslaughter
His initial charge was upgraded after he was involved in a fatal car crash
Judge Robert Young granted Cox bail under the same conditions as before the upgrade.
Cox has pleaded no contest to the charges and must report to Geraldton police station three times a week, surrender his passport and submit to random urine tests.
His next court appearance is scheduled for July 24 at Stirling Gardens Crown Court.
Cox was drafted by Collingwood in 2005 and played 25 games for the club before retiring ahead of the 2010 season, saying he had lost his passion for the game.
He later played country football, representing Rovers in the Great Northern Football League.
The deaths of Clausen and Seinor, residents of the coastal town of Jurien Bay in Perth’s north, have shocked their community.
“Two beautiful women who have done so much together,” said a member of the Country Women’s Association, where the couple volunteered.
“Always smiling, always willing to share their knowledge. It is such a tragedy to lose these two beautiful souls in the way they were taken.”
Two elderly pensioners killed in collision in Western Australia
The pensioners were on their way to celebrate the CWA Centenary at the Badgingarra Choir and Drama Festival when the collision killed them both instantly.
Tributes poured in on social media, with one person saying, “They were the real meaning of community.”
They were also described as ‘the backbone of the Jurien Bay community’ and as ‘beloved icons’ who work ‘tirelessly’ for others.