Glamorous woman accused of luring man to Sydney unit with nude photos before he was allegedly ‘bashed’ and fell to his death – as his last words to paramedics emerge

The woman accused of murder over a man’s balcony death allegedly ‘lured him to the flats with nude photos’ and then ‘hid in the bins room’ as he fell from a fourth-storey unit, a court has heard.

Jade McCaskie, 34, appeared in Parramatta Local Court via audiovisual link on Thursday dressed in prison greens as she applied for bail – looking a far cry from the glamorous photos splashed across her Instagram account.

Sitting in a booth at Silverwater Women’s Prison, McCaskie looked gaunt and stony-faced, her green prison shirt askew and her platinum hair scraped into a messy braided ponytail.

McCaskie’s bail application before Judge Marguerite Vassall heard graphic details of an alleged drug deal gone wrong in which prosecutors claimed the accused ‘lured’ victim Nathan Hill to the apartment block where he died.

Judge Vassall read police facts to court which stated that CCTV and phone intercepts allegedly ‘show[ed] McCaskie had knowledge of the plan to rob the victim of drugs and steal his car’.

‘[McCaskie] was in a relationship with one of her three co-accused… and played a role of luring [Hill]… to 23-25 Crane Road, Castle Hill. And… is alleged to have sent him nude photographs.’

Hill, 44, was allegedly set upon by three men inside the flat before falling 15m from the balcony.

His last words to paramedics before he died from his injuries on the ground were that he ‘was being bashed… they were going to bash me and I jumped to get away’. 

McCaskie has been in custody since her arrest along with two men following the dramatic events in Castle Hill in Sydney’s north-west in the early hours of Sunday, May 17.

Residents claimed they heard frantic cries for help coming from an apartment on Crane Road. 

Paramedics found Hill suffering from critical injuries in a garden area outside the unit block at about 2:40am.  

He was treated at the scene but could not be revived. By the time police arrived, those partying inside the unit he fell from had already left.

The court heard on Thursday that drugs were being taken at the party and that McCaskie had been a drug addict for most of her adult life.

The facts read out by Judge Vassall allege that Hill organised to meet McCaskie at the Crane Road unit block on the night of May 16.

Telephone evidence downloaded from the deceased man’s mobile phone showed that after arriving at the address at 2.01am, Hill parked his car outside and ‘sent McCaskie a message saying he had arrived and she replied indicating someone else would go out and meet [him]’.

McCaskie had phoned Hill and they had discussed ‘drugs and a party’ and he was invited to the Castle Hill address, police prosecutor Sergeant Ferguson told the court.

Hill was told ‘this other fellow will meet you – he looks scary, but he’s not’. 

While McCaskie was ‘hiding in the bin room, [Hill] went up [to] the apartment and it ended quite tragically’, the court heard.

‘The accused has played a crucial role in luring the deceased to the location. Without involvement of the accused, the deceased would not have attended.’ 

Judge Vassall said police alleged that CCTV footage showed Hill and one of McCaskie’s co-accused entering the apartment complex at 2.07am, with Hill carrying a small satchel that allegedly contained prohibited drugs.

‘CCTV shows the other two co-accused inside the unit. It is alleged that in the unit [a third co-accused] assaulted the victim in order to steal drugs and his vehicles.’

At 2.17am, CCTV shows McCaskie and two co-accused entering the lift, covering their faces and carrying several bags. McCaskie uses clothing over her head in an attempt to hide her identity from the cameras.

The facts also allege that at 2.30am a witness heard Nathan Hill yell ‘help’.

The witness and Hill had a conversation in which he ‘asked for help, told them he had been robbed and bashed and was trying to get away’.

Triple-0 calls from a number of people at the block of apartments allegedly recorded the deceased ‘yelling for help’.

Sergeant Ferguson argued against McCaskie being granted bail, saying that with telephone communication evidence and CCTV from the Castle Hill flats, prosecutors had ‘an extremely strong case’. 

‘She was in the basement. She knew something bad was about to happen, she knew it was about drugs, she knew it was about money,’ the court heard. 

Bill Neild SC, for McCaskie, submitted that the prosecution had a weaker case against his client because she was not said to be present when the attack took place.

Judge Vassall denied McCaskie bail, ruling that her history of drug, dishonesty and property offences – despite having no violent convictions – meant that the proposed strict bail conditions did not outweigh the risks of releasing her. 

‘This is a very serious incident with catastrophic consequences,’ she said. 

Todd David Ryan, 38, and Viet Phong Pham, 30, are also charged with Hill’s murder but have not applied for bail.

A fourth suspect reportedly being sought by police in the case was mentioned in the facts.

NSW Police said inquiries into the incident are continuing under Strike Force Sunbach.

McCaskie was remanded in custody until July 16 for further mention.