The NSW Office of the Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP) have confirmed with The Echo that on 1 April 2026, the charge of murder against Jai Oden-Jenkins was withdrawn and dismissed at Lismore Local Court, ‘and there are no further proceedings on foot against Mr Oden-Jenkins’.
They confirmed the information reported by the ABC was correct. Oden-Jenkins was accused of murdering his girlfriend at Mullumbimby in September last year.
The ABC wrote on April 1, ‘The Office of the [Director] of Public Prosecutions withdrew a charge of murder against 30-year-old Jai Oden-Jenkins in Lismore Local Court this morning’.
‘Outside the court, public defender Jason Watts confirmed a post-mortem examination found Mr Oden-Jenkins’ 23-year-old girlfriend, Ashleigh Grice, died from a drug overdose.
‘The report stated the cause of death was “a mixed drug effect”, with methylamphetamine and Bromazolam detected in her system.
‘When the matter was mentioned in March, the court heard the post-mortem report finalised in December led to prosecutors not opposing bail for Mr Oden-Jenkins.
‘At that time, prosecutors were still seeking instructions on how to proceed with the matter’.
‘Mr Oden-Jenkins has been on bail and living in Victoria, and did not appear in court today.
‘The murder charge and bail conditions are withdrawn and dismissed’, said the ABC report.
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