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EXCLUSIVE: The mother of NRL star Nicho Hynes, who was by his side when he won the Dally M Medal, faces trial for drug supply… after a man died allegedly inhaling heroin while storing it in his house
- NRL star Nicho Hynes’ mother faces drug trial
- Julie Hynes, 50, charged with supplying heroin
- Man died of drug overdose on central New South Wales coast
- The death allegedly occurred at the home of Julie Hynes.
The mother of one of the NRL’s top players is accused of being part of a drug supply operation in which a man packing heroin died after inhaling the drug.
Julie Hynes was allegedly at her one-bedroom home on the central coast of New South Wales when 29-year-old Luke Murphy suffered a fatal overdose.
A call was made to Triple Zero, but by the time paramedics arrived at the facility on Commonwealth Avenue in Blackwall on May 25, 2021, Mr. Murphy had died.
Hynes, whose 26-year-old son Nicho is the reigning Dally M Medal winner and plays running back for the Cronulla Sharks, faced trial at Gosford District Court on Monday.
The NRL star’s mother, Nicho Hynes, is accused of taking part in a narcotics supply operation in which a man packing heroin died after inhaling the drug. Julie Hynes is pictured sheltering from the rain outside the District Court in Gosford on Monday.
Julie Hynes, who has pleaded not guilty to one charge of knowingly participating in the supply of a prohibited drug, is pictured with her son Nicho at last year’s Dally M Awards ceremony.
The game’s player of the year joined the Sharks in 2022 after making his NRL debut for the Melbourne Storm in front of his family in 2019.
His 50-year-old mother, who accompanied him to last year’s Dally M Awards ceremony, has pleaded not guilty to one charge of knowingly participating in the supply of a prohibited drug.
A co-defendant, Michael William Selvage, 59, who was also allegedly at the home when Murphy overdosed, has pleaded not guilty to the same charge.
Hynes and Selvage sat in the dock when a jury was sworn in on Monday after Crown Prosecutor Peter Lowe gave a brief summary of the case against the two.
Julie Hynes (above) was allegedly at her one-bedroom home on the central coast of New South Wales when 29-year-old Luke Murphy fatally overdosed after allegedly inhaling heroin.
Michael William Selvage, 59, who was also allegedly at the home when Murphy overdosed, has pleaded not guilty to knowingly participating in the supply of a prohibited drug.
Lowe told the court that Hynes and Selvage were long-term residents of the Central Coast.
Luke Murphy (above) was dead when paramedics arrived at Hynes’ home.
Hynes had been in Canberra in the days before Murphy’s death, but was reportedly present at his ‘modest’ home in Blackwall in the early hours of May 25.
Lowe said that a hydraulic press weighing about 250kg had been installed in Hynes’s only bathroom and was being used to compact blocks of heroin.
According to the Crown, Mr. Murphy, who had also grown up on the Central Coast, had “probably” brought the heroin into the home.
Before being pressed, the heroin was supposedly mixed with a cutting agent such as glucose so that it could double in size.
Lowe said Murphy had been manually operating the press to repackage the heroin after cutting it and during that process had been covered in “dust,” which was also found on the floor.
Nicho Hynes, the NRL Player of the Year for 2022, joined the Sharks last season after making his NRL debut for the Melbourne Storm in front of his family, including his mother Julie, in 2019 (above).
As a result, Murphy had inhaled heroin and some of the drug may have been absorbed through his skin, Lowe told the jury.
Mr Murphy subsequently fell into ‘a state’ and a call was made to Triple Zero, but he was dead when paramedics arrived.
Neither Hynes nor Selvage are charged with any crime in connection with Mr Murphy’s death.
A jury of eight women and four men was assembled and then sent home before the trial resumes before Judge David Wilson on Tuesday.