Lisa Govan: John Trevor Hope says bikie code of silence would stop him from discussing suspected murder

The former Club Deroes bikie police believe owned the vehicle used to transport the body of missing Kalgoorlie woman Lisa Govan claims he cannot remember anything about the disappearance, never once talked about the 25-year-old mystery with other gang members and was not contacted by bikies about his testimony at an inquest into the high-profile case. But in a bizarre confession, John Trevor Hope also told a coronial inquiry into Ms Govan’s suspected murder that the bikie code of silence dictated that he would never discuss club matters even if he knew the 28-year-old’s fate. Mr Hope told the second day of the inquest into what happened to Ms Govan that police were wrong to think his Toyota Landcruiser ute had been used to remove her body from the Club Deroes clubhouse on October 8, 1999. The inquest had earlier been told that senior Deroe Andrew “Crowie” Edhouse had stomped on Ms Govan’s head after partying with her at the gang’s headquarters on Boulder Road. Mr Hope, who was a patched Deroe from 2000 until 2017, told the inquest he had a hazy recollection about friend Raymond Fisher driving him to the clubhouse in the Landcruiser so he could collect his other vehicle, a Ford. In an increasingly tense exchange with counsel assisting the coroner, Sue Markham, Mr Hope was grilled about his memory. “Something had happened at the club,” Ms Markham suggested. “Something serious. And they needed your ute. You and Mr Fisher drove there, parked at the front.” Ms Markham suggested that after he left the clubhouse he confided in Mr Fisher that was worried about why his car was needed. “You were concerned about what your vehicle was being used for,” she suggested. “I don’t recall going there,” Mr Hope replied. “I don’t recall dropping the vehicle off.” “Do you accept that the vehicle was there?” Ms Markham asked. “Yes,” the 60-year-old eventually replied. “If Fisher drove me to pick up my Ford he would have driven the Landcruiser.” Ms Markham: “Later that day did you ask Mr Fisher to wash out the Landcruiser.” Mr Hope: “Most certainly not.” Ms Markham: “Did you tell Mr Fisher that something bad had happened at the clubhouse?” Mr Hope: “No.” Ms Markham: “He said you did.” Mr Hope: “I can’t account for someone else’s recollection.” Ms Markham quizzed Mr Hope about bikie culture. “If you were a member of the Club Deroes you stuck together,” she said. “The club members were very tight. And I know people don’t want to talk about anything bad that happens because of repercussions. Is that the case with you? “I am suggesting you have more memory than what you are saying today.” Coroner Michael Jenkin then intervened. “The fact that your memory is faulty has nothing to do with you trying to hide something?” he asked. “I understand there is a code of conduct or a code of silence. You don’t discuss matters of the club. So, you wouldn’t discuss these matters with the police.” Mr Hope agreed that was the case. “Yes, that’s correct,” he said. Mr Jenkin continued pressing Mr Hope about the outlaw code. “That loyalty means that anything you do know about Lisa’s disappearance is not something you’re going to tell me because of that code of conduct or code of silence,” he said. Mr Hope repeatedly claimed his memory was hazy because the incident was so long ago. “Are you able to provide any information about the case of Lisa Govan?” Ms Markham asked. “No,” Mr Hope replied. “I knew of her. I’d seen her in various locations around town. I knew her enough that if I saw her in the street I would say hi.” Ms Markham said it beggared belief that he never discussed the matter with other club members. Ms Markham: “From 1999 to 2007 did you have conversations about the disappearance?”. Mr Hope: “No.” Ms Markham: “So, no conversations at all about what might have happened”? Mr Hope: “No.” Mr Jenkin: “In all of that time … the topic of Lisa’s disappearance never came up as something you discussed?” Mr Hope: “I don’t recall anything like that.” Ms Markham asked how it was possible that he did not know that Mr Edhouse had been arrested over the suspected murder and Club Deroes associate Trevor Atkinson had been arrested three times. Ms Markham: “Did you not hear about any of those arrests?” Mr Hope: “No, I don’t think so.” Ms Markham: “You were a patched member of the club and you didn’t know other members had been arrested? You must have had conversations with other people about it.” Mr Hope: “It may have been spoken about in terms of hearsay.” Ms Markham: “You never asked them if they did anything?” Mr Hope: “No.” Ms Markham: “You weren’t curious given you were dragged into it?” Mr Hope: “No.” Ms Markham: “What about when you got the summons for this matter? Anybody from the club ring you?” Mr Hope: “No.” Ms Markham: “Any conversations with anyone? Mr Hope: “My wife perhaps.” Ms Markham: “In terms of other members contacting you today about your evidence you’re saying that hasn’t happened? Mr Hope: “No. Mr Hope said Mr Fisher often used the Landcruiser, as did other Club Deroe associates and members. “That ute was kitted out to carry motorcycles,” Mr Hope said. “It was often left at the clubhouse. The ute was left there, the keys were there. If they needed to get some firewood they would use it.” Mr Hope said police had incorrectly claimed he had destroyed the Landcruiser to hide any forensic evidence. He sold the vehicle 18 months after Ms Govan disappeared. The buyer was a pastor from Laverton. “The vehicle was not gotten rid of in any weird or untoward way,” he said. Mr Hope said he could remember little about the buyer apart from the fact “he was older than me”. Mr Hope said he had searched for the newspaper advertisement but had been unable to find it. He had lost the transfer papers and could explain why the transfer of ownership was not recorded by the Department of Transport. The inquest continues.