Shannon McCulloch with his painting of Benjamin Aitken, which was a finalist in the Archibald Prize.The friends described themselves as “like family” and were both at Mr Aitken’s house at 9am on October 26 when detectives knocked on the door to execute a search warrant.
The pair gave “no comment” interviews after their arrest, however, the court heard that Mr Aitken had provided police with passcodes to the confiscated phones. On the devices, police allegedly found messages on the encrypted app Wickr referring to drug trafficking. Benjamin Aitken’s painting of Gareth Samson arriving at the Art Gallery of NSW, where it was made a finalist in the Archibald Prize.“It has been sobering for him, both literally and figuratively,” said his barrister, Belinda Franjic.‘Pipe Painting’ by Shannon McCulloch.“Through my analysis of Mr Aitken’s phone, there is reference to ‘Shannon from Brunswick’ collecting drugs on behalf of Mr Aitken,” Senior Constable Fitzpatrick said.that he met Mr Aitken in 2014 when he lived in Perth.
Hours before they were arrested, Mr Aitken uploaded a photo to Instagram with Mr McCulloch, who he describes as the “cornerstone of my bizarre existence”. The gun’s barrel had been shortened, Senior Constable Fitzpatrick said, and 17 rounds of shotgun ammunition were also found.