A MAN accused of helping dump the body of Carly McBride in bushland outside Scone and providing a false alibi for her boyfriend has denied being involved and intends to argue that his mate and her alleged murderer was not responsible for her "savage death".
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James Anthony Cunneen, now 33, pleaded not guilty on Monday of being an accessory after the fact to murder over the death of Ms McBride and faced the first day of an estimated three-month trial in Sydney's Downing Centre District Court.
Ms McBride, a 31-year-old mother, was last seen leaving her ex-partner's house at Muswellbrook about 2pm on September 30, 2014.
Her skeletal remains were found in remote bushland at Owens Gap, on the outskirts of Scone, almost two years later.
It is the prosecution case that Ms McBride's boyfriend of about two months, Sayle Kenneth Newson, intercepted Ms McBride after she left the house and was walking towards a nearby McDonald's.
Crown prosecutor Kate Nightingale told the jury during her opening address on Monday that Newson and Ms McBride likely argued and Newson, who she described as an experienced and professional fighter, killed Ms McBride by inflicting a number of blows to her head and back.
"Sayle Newson then returned to [James Cunneen's] home and they immediately left, avoiding point-to-point cameras on highways and travelled the backroads to Scone," Ms Nightingale said. "The Crown case is that they went to Owens Gap where [Cunneen] assisted Newson in leaving Carly McBride's body in bushland about 26 metres from the road, where it was discovered about two years later."
As well as allegedly helping dispose of Ms McBride's body, Cunneen had assisted Newson avoid apprehension in a number of different ways over the following months and years, Ms Nightingale said.
This included developing an alibi for Newson and a "false narrative" about what happened to Ms McBride on the afternoon of September 30, 2014; that she had gone missing without their knowledge or involvement before pointing the finger at others as being involved in her disappearance or murder.
"That narrative included that they were together for the whole afternoon on that day," Ms Nightingale said. "That they travelled together to Scone and went to McDonald's and that Newson was concerned during the afternoon when Ms McBride did not contact him."
Ms Nightingale said the false narrative also included telling police and others that Newson and Ms McBride were in a "loving and deeply committed relationship", while prosecutors now allege Newson was a jealous and controlling boyfriend.
As well as that, prosecutors allege Newson and Cunneen "engaged in activities to make it appear they were trying to locate Ms McBride", including posting on Facebook, creating missing person posters and conducting searches and door knocks.
"Mr Cunneen also deleted telephone data from his mobile telephone and coordinated with Newson in relation to the conduct of police investigations and statements to be made to the police," Ms Nightingale said.
During his opening address, defence barrister Mark Hobart, SC, said there was no direct evidence - witnesses, photographs or telephone intercepts - that supported the prosecution claim that Cunneen had helped dump Ms McBride's body.
And he said that in order to prove Cunneen was an accessory, the prosecution would first need to prove Newson was a murderer.
Mr Hobart showed the jury a number of photos of Newson taken before and after he is alleged to have "savagely murdered" Ms McBride that showed no blood splatter on his white t-shirt.
"This is direct evidence that contradicts what the Crown says about Sayle Newson actually being the murderer on September 30, 2014," Mr Hobart said. "If he was, where is the blood? It is not there is it."
The trial, before Judge Mark Buscombe, continues.
