Lawyers for the accused killer of a 70-year-old grandmother say it is possible he dreamt he murdered her, and that someone else committed the attack.
asserted
someone → accuse → attack
In his opening address to a Supreme Court jury sitting in Bendigo on Thursday, defence barrister Patrick Cronan, SC, said there was no dispute Brian Barnes, 68, and victim Merril Kelly, 70, lived in Quambatook, about 300 kilometres north-west of Melbourne, or that issues had arisen over payment for work done at the local pool.
But Cronan said Barnes denies murdering Kelly.
asserted
Barnes → open → Kelly
He said Barnes agreed he had visited his brother’s house soon after Kelly’s death but denied telling him he had murdered Kelly.
asserted
he → say → Kelly
Instead, the lawyer told the jury to consider whether Barnes said he had dreamt that it had happened.
asserted
it → tell → jury
Cronan said while there might be forensic evidence to support the idea that Barnes had been inside the Kelly home, the jury shouldn’t necessarily accept the prosecution case that the accused man was the only person who could have inflicted the fatal injuries.
uncertain
who → say → injuries
Whether Barnes was in an altered state or suffered injuries to his face and body due to a skateboard accident, and not during a homicide, were also things for the jury to consider, the barrister said.
asserted
barrister → suffer → homicide
“It’s important to keep an open mind.
asserted
It → ’ → mind
Was it Mr Barnes that caused the death … or is it a reasonable possibility it was someone else?” he said.
asserted
he → cause → death
“Were his injuries from being scratched or falling off his skateboard?”
The jury earlier heard the prosecution’s allegation that Barnes bludgeoned Kelly, a devoted volunteer and grandmother of two, in her bed on January 21 last year about 1.40am and set her on fire on the outskirts of the tiny town of Quambatook after she refused to bake a cake for him or pay him for volunteer work.
asserted
she → scratch → work
He had allegedly cable-tied her and bundled her into a ute before driving her to the town cemetery.
uncertain
He → tie → cemetery
The work in disupute, the court heard, took place in December 2024 at a volunteer-run public swimming pool in Quambatook, where Kelly was a senior committee member.
asserted
Kelly → hear → Quambatook
Barnes asked Kelly to bake him a cake, before she paid him $200 for the work, the prosecution alleged.
asserted
prosecution → ask → work
Barnes then demanded $2000 from Kelly, the court heard.
asserted
court → demand → Kelly
The prosecution alleges that as tensions rose, Barnes killed Kelly.
asserted
Barnes → allege → Kelly
Barnes, known as Bert around town, was arrested in Welshmans Reef, 180 kilometres from the crime scene.
asserted
Barnes → know → scene
He has pleaded not guilty to murder.
asserted
He → plead → murder
Text messages showed Kelly telling him the work would be unpaid, with Barnes later replying “you have to pay me with cake”, the prosecution says.
asserted
prosecution → show → cake
On Thursday, Crown prosecutor Patrick Bourke said Kelly’s burnt body was found with remnants of petrol on her upper body and on the nearby ground, near the cemetery about 4.5 kilometres from her home.
asserted
body → say → home
It is the prosecution case, Bourke said, that Kelly sustained fatal head injuries at her home, leading to her death or unconsciousness within minutes of the attack, before she was set on fire at the cemetery.
asserted
she → say → cemetery
Although Barnes allegedly told his brother that he had demanded money from Kelly before setting her on fire, Bourke said forensic evidence suggested she was already dead by the time they reached the cemetery.
uncertain
they → tell → cemetery
He said Kelly’s blood was later found on Barnes’ ute tray, glasses and a home washing machine.
asserted
blood → say → tray
Black cable ties found around Kelly’s neck and wrists were also found on her bedroom floor and in Barnes’ house, Bourke said.
asserted
Bourke → find → house
“We say his actions speak of his intention in that bedroom.
asserted
actions → say → bedroom
Repeatedly striking Mrs Kelly to the head with such force that he fractured her skull in multiple places,” Bourke said.
asserted
Bourke → strike → places
The trial continues.
asserted
trial → continue → ?
The Aporia
