Robert Farquharson

Sergeant Glen Urquhart gave evidence that the steering wheel of Farquharson's vehicle would require a 220-degree turn to veer as it did on the highway to leave the road. There was no evidence of braking before the car entered the dam.[14] The vehicle's headlights, heater and ignition system were all in the off position.[5]

The body of the oldest child, Jai, was found protruding halfway out of the vehicle's front door. The other boys were discovered in the back seat.

Police video re-enactments of the crime scene played before the court showed the car veering left, instead of right, towards the dam at the exact position on the highway the accident happened. Farquharson's car was found to pull slightly to the right, though not to the degree that would counteract the left-veering force according to Urquhart.

King, a bus driver, testified that he recalled a conversation with Farquharson two months before the incident outside a fish and chip shop. He said his friend spoke of seeking revenge on his former wife and of wanting to "take away the things that mean the most to her", meaning the children. King recalled Farquharson complaining how his wife had taken the newer of the two cars. But King's wife could not recall her husband relaying this conversation to her that day.

Another witness, Shane Atkinson, who discovered Farquharson on the side of the road, said Farquharson twice refused to call the 000 emergency number, preferring instead to travel to Winchelsea to tell his wife of his children's fate.[14] The court transcript reveals Atkinson had to borrow a mobile phone to call police from the Winchelsea police station, which was closed for the night. This backs up the evidence given originally at the committal hearing that no mobile phone was available.

Matthew Naughton, an associate professor and specialist in sleep and respiratory medicine, told the jury that it was highly unlikely Farquharson had suffered a coughing fit in the moments before the accident.[15] He further testified that coughing to the point of blacking out is an extremely rare condition, known as cough syncope, and that Farquharson was unlikely to have suffered such an attack while driving given the warmth of his vehicle.[16] He later conceded, however, that he had never seen cough syncope, would not know how to take a history to determine it and was sceptical even of its existence, a consideration not backed up by others in the same sphere of medicine.

Farquharson relied upon the defence of losing consciousness due to a coughing fit and told police that he woke up in the dam. He said that the car had begun to submerge when his son Jai tried to free himself by opening the passenger door.[17]

Cam Everett, the owner of the property where the dam was located, told the court that a total of seven vehicles had crashed through his farm fence in eight years. No vehicles other than Farquharson's had ended up in the dam in that time.[5]

Former police superintendent David Axup, who has not been a policeman for over 20 years, contradicted the prosecution's arguments about the path and steering of the car as it left the road, believing it had probably travelled on a 53-degree arc. He said this could be explained by the right camber of the road towards the dam as well as the fact that the car had poor wheel alignment, meaning it would move uncontrolled to the right.[18]

Farquharson's thoracic medicine specialist, Chris Steinfort, also concluded it was "highly likely" that his patient had suffered from cough syncope on the night. Steinfort has seen cases of cough syncope and believed the symptoms suffered by Farquharson were a "classic" example.[19]

The day before the verdict came in, Farquharson arranged for flowers (three red tulips) to be laid at the grave of his children. Attached was a card reading "Dear Jai, Thinking of you on your birthday. Love you, Dad." Jai would have turned 13 that day.[20]

After three days of deliberations, the jury found Farquharson guilty on 5 October 2007.[2] Gambino broke down in court when the verdict was announced; her mother collapsed and was taken to hospital by ambulance.[16] Justice Cummins allowed a recess of 15 minutes for the court to compose itself before proceedings resumed.[21]

On 16 November 2007, Farquharson was sentenced to three terms of life imprisonment without parole. He then announced that he intended to appeal his convictions.[3]