A Warwick woman accused of possessing a gun and cocaine told police she had no idea the items were in her house.

While Desiree O’Connor declined to give evidence in her own defence yesterday, the Supreme Court watched a police interview recorded the day after her arrest in which she denied any knowledge of the items.

Ms O’Connor told officers that she had no knowledge of how a semiautomatic firearm and eight rounds of ammunition came to be in the ceiling above her bedroom. She said the bag the items were found in belonged to her late mother.

She also said she knew nothing about crack cocaine discovered by officers in a jar in her nightstand, stating that she did not do drugs and rarely used the nightstand on that side of the bed.

Ms O’Connor said: “I would never hold anything like that.

“My whole goal is to make sure my kids get brought up properly. I would never put them at risk.”

However, she also told the officers that she had allowed workmen in her home to carry out repairs and that a man who lived in a cottage on her property had a key to her home.

While the person cannot be identified for legal reasons, the jury heard the resident of the cottage had a previous conviction for a firearm-related offence and could not be excluded as a contributor to DNA found on the jar of cocaine.

The man was originally charged alongside Ms O’Connor with possessing the drugs with intent to supply, but the court heard that prosecutors elected not to proceed with the charge against him.

Ms O’Connor, 55, has denied allegations that she possessed a firearm, ammunition and freebase cocaine with intent to supply in an incident on September 13, 2024.

Earlier in the trial, the court heard that an electrician discovered a tote bag containing the firearm and ammunition in the ceiling over Ms O’Connor’s bedroom while working at the home.

Later that day, officers discovered a jar containing a chalklike substance in the top drawer of a nightstand in the bedroom.

Forensic analysis found the substance to be 54.62 grams of freebase cocaine, worth up to $17,050.

As her trial continued yesterday, the jury was shown a police interview recorded on September 14, 2024, shortly after Ms O’Connor was informed of the drug charge for the first time.

Ms O’Connor told the officers she was completely shocked by the items discovered in her home, stating that she had not seen the items or agreed to hold anything for anyone.

She said she had moved into the house in September 2023 and had never had any reason to go into the ceiling, but noted that she had hired several workmen for projects around the ageing building.

Ms O’Connor said: “Over time people have had access to my house but there’s no way I could have imagined that they would do anything untoward.”

Shown a photograph of the tote bag found in the ceiling, she said that she recognised it as having belonged to her mother.

Ms O’Connor said that she had left the bag in the closet after last using it in May that year, stating that it was empty at the time.

Asked who had access to her house, she confirmed that the person who lived in a cottage on the property had a key. She described him as a friend and stated that they previously had an on-and-off relationship.

Ms O’Connor told the officers that a man living in an apartment on the property would sometimes ask to do laundry at her house, but never had a key.

She also noted that because she regularly had workmen in the house, she often left a door unlocked.

Questioned about the drugs, Ms O’Connor also said she had no idea about the jar or its contents, volunteering to take a drug test.

She told the officers that while she kept paperwork in the nightstand on the right side of the bed, she rarely used the nightstand on the left, but accepted there were some personal items in the lower drawer.

Informed that the contents of the jar were suspected to be crack cocaine, she replied: “I wouldn’t know what to do with that.

“I’m not a person who knows about this type of thing or how to take it.”

She said she had no idea who would have left the drugs or the firearm in her home, stating that she could not believe anyone she knew could be responsible.

Ms O’Connor said: “I know nothing about how all of this was found in my house. It’s shocking to me.

“I’m obviously too trusting. I always give the benefit of the doubt to everybody out of the goodness of my heart.”

Clifford Roberts, a retired detective constable, told the court that when he arrested her for drug possession shortly before her interview, she responded: “In my house? Where in my house?”

He also confirmed that Ms O’Connor had no criminal record. However, the residents of the cottage and the apartment had previous convictions.

Mr Roberts also told the court that the defendant provided police with her phone and its password and that nothing found on the device linked her to drugs or firearms.

Ms O’Connor subsequently told the court that she would not take the stand and Marc Daniels, her lawyer, indicated that the defence would not call any witnesses.

The court is expected to hear closing statements in the case today.

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