Gus Lamont: Eleventh-hour twist in court appearance for missing child’s grandmother Josie Murray
Gus Lamont’s grandmother will no longer appear in district court this week after her case was rescheduled to be heard in Adelaide.
Josie Murray was due to appear in Peterborough Magistrates’ Court on Wednesday morning on charges of possessing an illegal firearm silencer allegedly compatible with one of her registered weapons.
In an eleventh-hour development on Tuesday evening, the 75-year-old actor’s scheduled hearing was cancelled. 7NEWS Adelaide reported.
Instead the matter was adjourned for a hearing in the Adelaide Magistrates Court in June.
Police charged Ms. Murray two months ago after allegedly finding the gun during a follow-up search of the Oak Park Station, where officers had returned to collect evidence in connection with the investigation into Gus’s disappearance.
Authorities said the charge was not related to the missing child case.
The crime is classified as aggravated and carries a maximum penalty of a fine of up to $75,000 or 15 years in prison.
Ms Murray’s four-year-old grandson Gus disappeared from his family’s remote rural sheep station in the South Australian town of Yunta on September 27, 2025.
The little boy was reportedly last seen playing in a mound of dirt at his farmhouse, about 319 kilometers north-east of Adelaide, at around 5pm before he disappeared.
A large-scale search was launched across 60,000 hectares, involving drones, helicopters, mounted officers, ground crews and Indigenous tracers.
Despite several extensive searches, including draining a dam, examining mine shafts and scanning surrounding areas, the only clue uncovered was a footprint found approximately 500 meters away from the farm.
In February, police following multiple investigations confirmed they no longer believed the four-year-old was on the loose or had been abducted.
While police identified a person known to the family as a suspect, the case was upgraded to a major crime investigation, confirming that Gus’ parents were not under suspicion.
Police have previously said they believe Gus was killed, most likely by someone he knew, either accidentally or intentionally.
The breaking court development comes after South Australian police provided an update on little Gus’ disappearance on Monday.
Police said the search for answers was still active but acknowledged there had been no major progress in the search for the four-year-old boy.
SA Police Commissioner Grant Stevens acknowledged the distress the case had caused both to the family and the community.
“This is one of those tragic stories that we want to bring greater clarity to, not only to family members who have been seriously affected by Gus’s disappearance, but also to the wider community,” he said.
“However, we have no further updates at this stage. The special team operating within the Major Crime Investigation Branch continues its work. I have not received any specific updates regarding its activities over the last few weeks.”
Mr Stevens added that police would return to the property “sometime in the future” but no date had been set.
Anyone with information is asked to contact Crime Stoppers. 1800 333 000.
