A CELEBRITY crocodile-wrangler has been jailed for meddling with evidence after a helicopter crash killed his co-presenter.
Matt Wright, host of Outback Wrangler and Wild Croc Territory, was given a 10-month-sentence after a court found he had covered-up evidence.
The 47-year-old was found guilty of lying to police and pressuring a hospitalised witness.
A third charge, which claimed he asked a friend to “torch” evidence, did not reach a verdict.
The case follows a 2022 helicopter crash in Arnhem Land, about 300 miles east of Darwin, Australia.
The crash killed Wright’s fellow presenter Chris “Willow” Wilson and left pilot Sebastian Robinson a paraplegic.
The group had been collecting crocodile eggs in Australia‘s Northern Territory, when their chopper ran out of fuel and fell from the air.
Father-of-two Wilson was dangling from the helicopter on a 30m line when the aircraft suddenly dropped.
Wright was convicted for lying to crash investigators about the amount of fuel that was left in the chopper’s tank.
The multimillionaire croc-wrangler was also found guilty of trying to make pilot Robinson doctor the helicopter’s flying records.
The court heard that Wright went to Robinson’s bedside in hospital to pressure him to alter evidence.
The pilot had been seriously hurt in the crash, with punctured legs and a severe brain injury.
Doctors say Robinson may never walk again.
Acting Justice Alan Blow said it was significant Wright had “the callousness” to pressure the pilot when he had just come out of a coma.
He said: “It was the worst possible time to put any pressure on him. He was heavily medicated and very vulnerable.”
Prosecutors argued that Wright had been trying to hide how he had regularly altered the chopper’s flying hours to avoid costly maintenance.
The case did not allege that he had caused the crash which led to Wilson’s death.
Wright had pleaded not guilty to all charges, and was fined $5,000 for lying to police.
He said he was “pretty disappointed in the verdict” and intends to appeal.
Wilson’s widow, Danielle Wilson, said the verdict was “an important moment in a long and painful journey”.
She said: “We are now approaching the fourth Father’s Day that my two young sons [are] facing without their dad.
“Once again, there will be an empty seat at the table, a constant reminder of all that has been taken from us.
“That is our reality, and it is a pain that we live with every single day. It does not go away.”
