13 Thus, the direction to the jury that Mrs Alchin "continued to live for a further nine to eleven days" as a given and established fact, with respect, significantly overstated the actual effect of the expert evidence which was all one way. The jury were, indeed, reminded of the evidence that "16th to the 18th January is the time at which Dr Bradhurst thinks that the deceased most probably died" but this was immediately followed by the direction "you would have to regard the 16th January…as the date of death, because you have to treat the matter conservatively". No point was taken as to this question either at the trial or in this appeal. We mention it merely as showing that, in dealing with the element of the appellants' realization of the probability of death, the jury very likely considered the issue upon a mistaken view of the evidence. It is also material to the ground of appeal requiring this Court to consider whether the verdict of the jury was unreasonable.
14 In the result, no conclusion was capable of being drawn beyond probability, though perhaps high probability, that Mrs Alchin had died by 16 January. How long before that date she may have died must be speculative, increasing in certainty no doubt as the period extended backward.
15 Mrs Alchin regularly placed grocery orders by telephone with Mr and Mrs Reeves each Wednesday. The orders were delivered to Mrs Alchin's home on Friday afternoons by one or other of the Reeves. Their last contact with Mrs Alchin occurred on 24 December 2000, when she called to say that there had been an attempted break-in the night before and she wanted some padlocks. They were delivered on 5 January, which was the last occasion that Mrs Reeves saw Mrs Alchin. No order was placed after 5 January 2001. Eventually this caused Mr and Mrs Reeves concern. On 19 January 2001, Mr Reeves went to Mrs Alchin's house. He climbed over the front gate and knocked repeatedly on the front door. He then went around the side and climbed over the side gate. Both gates were padlocked. When he went around to the back of the house he noticed that the outside back light was on and the back door was half open. There was also a locked security door, on which was a note written by David Geoffrey Bennett.
16 In early January 2001, Mr Bennett had met Mrs Alchin at her home and at her request measured the back door for the installation of a new security door, which he installed on Monday, 8 January 2001. Before going to the premises on that day he had rung and received no answer. When he attended he found the back door open and ajar. He called out but got no response and proceeded to fit the security door. He then locked it and left a note attached to the bars of the back door stating that he had left the key with a neighbour. Mr Reeves retrieved that key from that neighbour and used it to unlock the security door and enter Mrs Alchin's house. After finding her body, he called the police.
17 On about 19 December 2000, Mrs Alchin had told an acquaintance, Graeme Saville Cox, that someone had tried to break into her house. She mentioned that things had been moved around in her shed. In late December or early January, Mrs Alchin rang Mr Cox and said that someone had tried to get in her front door with a piece of plastic. He advised her to install a security door for her back door and organised this. Around Christmas 2000, Mrs Alchin told another acquaintance that someone had tried to break into her house and that she was going to install the security door. On Christmas Eve 2000, Mrs Alchin told Mr and Mrs Reeves that her house had been the subject of an attempted burglary. She had been asleep when she heard a noise. She turned on her light and scared off the intruder. She said she was worried about security and placed an order for padlocks. Mrs Reeves delivered the padlocks to Mrs Alchin and was told that a piece of plastic had been used to get in her front door. Mrs Reeves saw it in Mrs Alchin's hands. It was the size of a credit card.
18 On 24 December 2000, Constable Olivia Shephard attended Mrs Alchin's house. Mrs Alchin said that her back shed had been broken into and something was wedged in her front door. Constable Shephard saw a white plastic card jammed in the door. Mrs Alchin opened the front door. Constable Shephard removed the card. There were no jemmy marks on the door. Mrs Alchin was advised to keep her front security door locked. Mrs Alchin told Constable Shephard that the key was broken off inside it. On 28 December 2000, Murray Aston, a locksmith, came to Mrs Alchin's house and changed the lock on her front security door. Mrs Alchin believed that someone had a key. At the same time, she told Mr Aston that she wanted a new rear door. She paid Mr Aston in cash with pre- polymer banknotes.
19 Several people visited Mrs Alchin's house in January 2001. On 5 January, Barry Milsim Irving, an electrician, went there and saw that her front mailbox had been broken off. On 8 January, Kevin Stuart Garrett went to read Mrs Alchin's meter. He usually entered through the front gate but on this occasion he found the gate had a padlock. On 12 January, George Francis Cross from the Greenwell Point Post Office delivered mail to the house. He saw Mrs Alchin from time to time on his run and had got to know her. On occasions, she would give him a cheque and a bill for payment, which he would do for her and return the next day with a receipt. He noticed a padlock on Mrs Alchin's front gate for the first time. Her mailbox was not outside as it usually was. Her practice was to take it in at night and bring it back outside in the mornings.
20 Mr and Mrs Batchelor, who had lived in Greenwell Point for well over thirty years, had been Mrs Alchin's neighbour for about three years before her death. She said that she never saw Mrs Alchin except for glimpses through the palings of the back fence when she was hanging out her washing. She only spoke to her once, a telephone conversation, when Mrs Alchin offered her some grapefruit. About four or five days before Mrs Alchin's body was found Mrs Batchelor noticed a very bad smell - she described as like a dead rat - that she thought at first came from her own laundry or toilet, but which obviously came from Mrs Alchin's house. For obvious reasons, this evidence strongly suggested that Mrs Alchin had died some days before 14 or 15 January.
21 Mrs Rutter, who was born in 1959, gave evidence that her mother moved to her house in Spies Avenue, Greenwell Point in about 1977 or 1978 and that she went to live there with her in 1982, having previously lived with her father for some years. Mrs Alchin had three sisters, Cheryl Ravell, Margaret Jones and Marie Gale and three brothers, Gordon (who was deceased), Allan and Kevin Ravell. Mrs Alchin enjoyed good health. She would go out from time to time to visit friends and go shopping. However, Mrs Alchin did not drive and did not like to go out on her own. She was security conscious and would not open the door to strangers. Mrs Rutter did not suggest that, aside from the fact that her mother liked to have company when she went out, she was a recluse. In 1989 a dispute arose between them and Mrs Rutter did not see her mother again from that time. However, it appears that she kept in contact by telephone. Sometime in the late 1990's they fell out again. The two last spoke in October 2000 but the evidence does not otherwise disclose the frequency of their contact. Mrs Rutter was not asked and did not give evidence about any communications, direct or indirect, with the appellants.
22 Another sister, Margaret Jones, said that she had had contact with Mrs Alchin until 1997, when they fell out. Mrs Jones would visit Mrs Alchin and take her shopping once or twice a fortnight. Mrs Alchin always had money in cash. Several years earlier, Mrs Jones was with Mrs Alchin when Mrs Alchin withdrew $7,000 cash in old $100 notes from a bank. Mr and Mrs Reeves gave evidence that when Mrs Alchin paid for groceries she would usually pay in cash with $50 notes. In the past, she had also paid with old (pre-polymer) $100 notes. She would go to her bedroom to get the money. Alan Walter Ball, the owner of the Greenwell Point Newsagency and General Store, gave evidence that he delivered newspapers to Mrs Alchin's house. Once a month she would pay him in cash at her front door. The last delivery was on 17 January 2001.
23 Mr Cox was a friend of Mrs Alchin, having met her through a pastor of the Seventh Day Adventist Church (of which she was an adherent) who got to know Mrs Alchin well through his work with Meals on Wheels. Mr Cox had agreed to her request to drive her around when she bought a car, which he also used. Amongst other things, he would speak with Mrs Alchin on the telephone, visit for a cup of tea and take her shopping, though this ceased when one of her widowed neighbours, a Mr Knowles, took this on. Mr Cox understood that Mrs Alchin and Mr Knowles became good friends and commenced to see each other regularly. Mr Cox and Mrs Alchin continued to speak together by telephone, one occasion being on 19 December when Mrs Alchin called to complain that she thought someone had attempted to break into her house through the back door; they also spoke in early January 2001, when she told him that someone had been trying to get through the front door with a piece of plastic and that she had called the police. The last time they spoke was sometime later when Mrs Alchin asked Mr Cox to go over and do some work for her in her yard but some personal matters intervened and he did not go. In the week before 20 January 2001, however, Mr Cox called her from time to time, but without success and, thinking that she may have hurt herself, had decided to investigate on 20 January but was then told by a police constable he knew that Mrs Alchin's body had just been found. Mr Cox had seen Mrs Alchin carrying a lot of money when he took her shopping. Once she bought a motor vehicle in a private sale for $2,000. She went to her bedroom and returned with the money in $100 notes. Rodney James Knowles gave evidence that he drove Mrs Alchin to various places on several occasions and saw her make purchases with old $50 notes. He stated that there was no physical relationship between them.
24 Mrs Gale, who was living in Queensland, had last seen her sister, Mrs Alchin at the end of November 1998 and last spoke to her towards the end of 2000. She was called principally to give evidence about a conversation after Mrs Alchin's death with members of the family, including Mr Taber, about old banknotes and did not give any more specific evidence about her contact with her sister.
25 Cheryle Ravell, Mrs Alchin's youngest sister, was living in Greenwell Point at the time of Mrs Alchin's death. She confirmed the other evidence about her sister's habits. She said that they were not close because they did not see each other "very often". At about Christmas 1999, they fell out over some shopping done by Mrs Ravell for Mrs Alchin and she stopped seeing and talking to her in about April the following year. One of Mrs Ravell's daughters, Melinda took over doing the grocery shopping for her. Another of Mrs Ravell's daughters, Leonie, had been living with the appellant Taber for four or five months. She was called by the Crown to give evidence, inter alia, about Taber's whereabouts on the night of 6 January 2001. She was not asked and gave no evidence about her relationship with Mrs Alchin, or Mrs Alchin's habits of life or relations with the rest of the family or, for that matter, any other persons, nor whether she had said anything to Taber about these matters.
26 Melinda Ravell said that she would visit Mrs Alchin perhaps once or twice a week and did her shopping for her from time to time. Mrs Alchin had lent money to Cheryle and to Melinda Ravell. These were in cash amounts of $22,000, $3,000 and $22,000 on separate occasions in late 1999. Mrs Alchin handed the money over in her house on each occasion in a paper bag. Most of the money comprised old $100 notes. Mrs Alchin wanted to be repaid in cash. A dispute arose in relation to the repayment of these loans. This caused Mrs Alchin to contact a solicitor in the latter half of 2000. Eventually she was repaid. The evidence did not suggest, however, that Melinda's contact with Mrs Alchin ceased, although she had not attempted to contact her during the relevant time.
27 A Mr Garrett attended Mrs Alchin's premises on 11 January 2001 to take a meter reading. Mr Ball owned the Greenwell Point Newsagency and General Store, where Mrs Alchin had a standing order for a newspaper to be delivered on Wednesdays and Sundays and a magazine monthly. Mr Ball made these deliveries by throwing them over the fence early in the morning. Once a month he went to the door to be paid, the last of these occasions being 17 January 2001.
28 After Mrs Alchin's funeral, Mrs Rutter went to her house for a clean up. While there Mrs Alchin's brother-in-law, Richard Stanley Jones, found a key within the cushions of a chair situated near the back door. The key fitted the lock on the back door.
29 Detective Senior Constable Paul Andrew Johnstone received a telephone call from Mr Reeves at 12.20 pm on 19 January 2001. Mr Reeves said he had found Mrs Alchin dead in her house. At 12.55 pm, Johnstone went to Mrs Alchin's house with Senior Constable Olana Lillian Jeffery, who maintained a crime scene log, and Sergeant Wesley John Hanrahan, who kept the premises secure. Having entered the premises over the padlocked front gate where they saw several wrapped newspapers on the front lawn, they climbed over another padlocked gate at the side of the house and walked to the back door. Johnstone unlocked the security door with a key he received from Mr Reeves and opened the back door, which was closed but not locked. He saw wrapped newspaper on the floor near the back door. There were rotting tomatoes in the kitchen sink. The front door was shut. Mrs Alchin's bedroom was in a state of disarray with clothing and bed linen scattered over the floor. Wardrobe doors were opened and their contents scattered. A later inspection by Detective Sergeant Wayne Benney showed no sign of any ransacking in any of the rooms except the bedroom. Benney gave evidence that the cable ties were tied to Mrs Alchin in such a way that they would not break when pulled and would have to be cut. On the mattress there were two bed sheets knotted together.
30 On 21 January 2001, Johnstone took part in a search with Benney at Mrs Alchin's house. In her bedroom wardrobe, Johnstone located a brown leather handbag containing two small purses, one with $156.45 in notes and coins and the other with $250, which included two pre-polymer $100 notes. A broken black cable tie was found on the bedroom floor. A later external search revealed no apparent signs of forced entry.
31 On 24 January 2001 at 4.50 pm, police went to the appellant Taber's house at 211 Old Southern Road, Worrigee and executed a search warrant. Amongst those present in the house were, Taber, and his de facto wife, Leonie Kaye Ravell. Also present were Sharon Rose Herne and her daughters, Kylie Rose Herne and Meegan Elizabeth Herne. They were required to go outside and were searched by Detective Jeffrey, who said the search took less than ten minutes. Their car was also searched and following this search they left. Mrs Herne gave evidence that the elapsed time between the police arriving and her and her daughters leaving the house was about an hour. Constable Stephen Gregory Hegarty said in evidence that he saw Mrs Herne and her two children leave the house and go out to the front. They left about five minutes after the search of the house began.
32 The search of Taber's house began at about 5.15 pm. The police found in the main bedroom two new rolls of grey duct tape, several shopping receipts, including one from K-Mart dated 8 January 2001 in the amount of $1,737.80; in the lounge room a small clear plastic bag containing a quantity of black cable ties; in the rear yard a piece of grey duct tape on the lawn and in the garage a backpack containing gloves and masks. Taber said that the gloves were his mother's as she was a nurses' aid. The Crown placed no reliance on the finding of the masks.
33 When the search moved to the front of the house, Taber handed a pre-polymer $100 note to one of the detectives.
34 The police searched a panel van at the front of the house and a white Ford Ute. Detective Senior Constable Jeffrey Allan Bennett gave evidence that he assisted in searching the utility and found two lengths of scrunched up used grey duct tape in the rear tray. Benney saw these two items in the rear of the utility and took photographs. The search was videotaped by Senior Constable Adam James Asplin. Bennett was shown the videoed footage during cross-examination. He agreed that it showed Detective Senior Constable Ivor Davies, Senior Constable James Gordon Littler and Constable Ray Thomas near the white ute. Littler pointed twice to the inside of the utility before Bennett approached it. Bennett said, after viewing this portion of the taped footage, that he made a mistake when he said that he had been the one who had found the scrunched up duct tape in the rear of the utility.
35 Hegarty's evidence was that after he arrived at the house he secured the front yard and driveway. His evidence, which was corroborated by all other police officers present, was that the search was completed at 7.35 pm. He saw Bennett locate two scrunched up rolls of duct tape in the rear of the ute. He did not see anyone approach the utility prior to this. Hegarty was not visible on the videoed footage showing the search of the utility because he was behind the camera at this time and when cross-examined about whom he first saw find the scrunched up tape in the utility, he was adamant that it had been Bennett.
36 Davies gave evidence that he recalled seeing the duct tape in the back of the utility. He had made no earlier approach or search of the vehicle. He said that the duct tape was pointed out to him by other police. He did not see any officer pick it up. At first, Thomas said in evidence that he did not search the ute. In cross-examination he remembered that he did search it. He did not recall finding any duct tape in the utility. He agreed that the videotaped footage of the search showed him searching a panel van and then moving over to the utility where he stood near Littler and motioned Davies to the back of the utility before Littler pointed twice towards the back of the vehicle. He could not recall if he had been pointing out the two rolls of scrunched up duct tape.
37 Littler gave evidence, that in the company of Thomas, he saw duct tape in the back of the utility after he had walked to the side of it. He could not recall pointing it out but agreed that he was shown to do so on the videoed tape. He agreed in cross-examination that he made no mention about seeing duct tape in the utility when he made his statement. This was because he forgot.
38 The evidence of Bennett, Hegarty and Littler was that after the scrunched up rolls of duct tape were found in the back of the utility, they were recorded on video tape and Detective Constable Jason Charles Stevenson, the allocated exhibit officer, took possession of them, recorded what had been found, and placed them in a brown paper bag which he then sealed. Stevenson confirmed in evidence that he did this and that the scrunched up rolls of duct tape were logged at 7.09 pm.
39 The videotaped footage of the search showed Stevenson placing the duct tape found in the rear yard into a brown paper bag. There was no videotaped footage of the two scrunched rolls of used duct tape found in the rear of the utility. Stevenson agreed in cross-examination that there was no video taped footage of him picking up these two rolls of duct tape. Asplin, in cross-examination, acknowledged that after Littler had pointed to the utility the camera then focused on the two scrunched up rolls of duct tape. He did not recall seeing any officer place these two rolls of duct tape into a paper bag and he agreed there was no videotaped footage of this happening. Benney's evidence was that Stevenson sealed the two pieces of duct tape in a brown paper bag. In cross-examination he said that when he had earlier given evidence he had made a mistake in saying that the two pieces of duct tape went into separate bags.
40 Stevenson's evidence was that the rolls of duct tape were not located in his presence as he was placing exhibits in the back of a police vehicle at the time. He was able to see the search of the utility taking place. In his statement he said that Bennett had located these items. On the property exhibit form he had written that Bennett found the two rolls of scrunched up tape. He explained that this was because Bennett had identified them to him.
41 Detective Senior Constable Kevin Alan Cody gave evidence that he was present while the utility was searched. Bennett found two pieces of scrunched up pieces of duct tape in the rear of the utility. In cross-examination, after watching the video footage of Littler pointing to the utility he said he had not actually seen Bennett locate the tape. He had relied on the log of Stevenson to prepare his statement when he had said that Bennett had located the tape. In cross-examination, he said that the duct tape was obvious once one looked into the vehicle.
42 In cross-examination, Stevenson agreed that he had verified the property exhibit without first having Taber check and sign it. Davies also gave evidence that he had questioned Taber at the scene about the $100 note handed to him, the backpack containing the gloves and masks and the receipts found by the police but had no recollection of asking Taber about the scrunched up rolls of duct tape found in the utility.
43 The cross-examination of the police officers who undertook the search was to the effect that the two scrunched up rolls of duct tape found in the back of the white utility were planted by police and were expected to be found. This was denied.
44 The police officers present during the search of Taber's house were cross-examined about an occasion during the search when the police were in the bedroom and Cody said: "Jason, those girls right to go? We've searched the car. They have a backpack in the lounge." After this Davies and Stevenson were seen on the videotaped footage of the search to leave the room. Asplin, Littler and Thomas could not recall the two officers leaving the room. They acknowledged the videotaped footage showed them doing so but they could not assist as to where they went. Hegarty, who was securing the front yard, gave evidence that he did not recall seeing Davies or Stevenson come out to the utility before the utility was searched. Bennett's evidence was that as far as he was aware there was no other time the utility was searched other than the time about which he gave evidence. Cody gave evidence that he did not see any other officer approach that utility before it was searched and the scrunched up rolls of duct tape were found. For most of the time he was in the front yard. His role was to assist Davies with interviewing Taber.
45 Stevenson said in cross-examination that he had left the bedroom and gone into the lounge room or hallway to write up the exhibits and secure them. That was where they were stored. In re-examination he said that he believed that he gave the backpack in the lounge room to a police officer to return to Mrs Herne and her daughters who then left. He did not recall leaving with another police officer nor anyone saying anything to him about searching a car. He did not take part in the search of any car. His evidence was that what Cody was referring to was the search of Mrs Herne's car which was parked at the front.
46 Cody gave evidence that he and another officer searched Mrs Herne's car at the front before they were allowed to leave. The question asked by him in the bedroom was made after his search of that car and after Meegan Herne's backpack was searched. He did not know where Stevenson and Davies went when they left the room.
47 Mrs Herne's evidence was that while she was at the front of the house she did not see any police officer search the utility. She was pre-occupied with the police who were searching her car. At that time, there were several police outside the house.
48 Meegan Herne gave evidence that up to half an hour after the police arrived, when she was at the front of the house being searched, she turned and saw a man with a grey ball of tape in his left hand. She described him as being in his early to mid thirties, six feet tall, with short dark hair, not fat or skinny, with trousers and a long sleeved shirt. She saw him standing next to Taber in the middle of the front yard close to the utility. She was about ten feet away from him at the time. After seeing this she and her sister and mother left.
49 The police who attended at Taber's house for the search were all questioned about the description given by Meegan Herne of the man she had seen holding a grey ball of tape. Their evidence was generally either that they could not recall seeing such an officer there as described by her or they recalled there were officers who matched the physical descriptions but not the clothing.
50 Cody gave evidence that he was not holding the ball of tape. He could only recall that he and Davies were wearing trousers and long sleeved shirts. Hogan gave evidence that after escorting Leonie Ravell out of the house he did not search any vehicle and was not holding a ball of tape. His evidence was that the description given by Meegan Herne matched him and Littler. Hegarty said that he had not seen any duct tape before the utility was searched nor any officer searching it. While the Hernes were present he did not see any police officer in the vicinity of the utility. He did not see any officer holding a ball of duct tape. Johnstone gave evidence that he did not go near the white utility and did not place any duct tape in the back of that vehicle. He did not see any officer holding duct tape and standing near it. Senior Constable Anthony Peter Hyndes recalled seeing a utility at the front when he took part in the search of Mrs Herne's car. He did not approach the utility and did not see any other officer approach it. He did not see any officer holding duct tape.
51 Constable Paul Edward McCann gave evidence that he remained in the front yard while the house was being searched to secure the premises. After the search was completed he went into the house to help seize the exhibits. He did not look inside the utility but he saw the video camera around while it was being searched. At no stage did he see an officer holding a piece of duct tape.
52 Detective Inspector Wayne George Hayes took photos of all police who attended the search and subsequently showed the photos to Meegan Herne. She was unable to say whether any of them were handling the duct tape. Hayes did not show the photos of Bennett because he was on leave and in any case had been wearing jeans and a T-shirt on the day of the search and was specifically excluded by Meegan Herne in her evidence. Inspector William Peter Carter, another officer present during the search, was bald and no photo of him was taken. He gave evidence that he was present at the search to ensure its integrity and fairness. He had seen Stevenson's property exhibit form on the day of the search but he had not handled it nor read it in its entirety. Stevenson agreed he had not given this form to Carter for him to attest to the integrity of the search as an independent observer.
53 Carter completed a search warrant independent observer form and the search warrant procedures scene plan. The last item shown in these documents was a search of the carport at 6.51 pm. He said in cross-examination that he was still present when the panel van and utility were searched but agreed that he had made no reference to these searches in his statement. He did not recall if anything was found in the utility. He agreed that he was not visible on the videotaped footage when the utility was being searched. He was last seen on the videotaped footage when the carport was being searched. He denied he was not outside when the ute was searched and said he must have been with the cameraman. Stevenson in evidence said he believed Carter came out when the ute was searched and that Carter was present for the entire search. He could not explain why Carter was not visible on the videotaped footage. Davies gave evidence that he could not recall if Carter was around when the search was wrapped up.
54 Benney gave evidence that he took photographs of a broken black cable tie found by police on the carport floor in front of the boat and another black cable tie on the carport floor alongside the boat. He examined the packed cable ties found in the lounge room. The cable ties taken from Mrs Alchin and the broken cable tie found on the floor in Mrs Alchin's bedroom were all examined and found to be 202mm in length. On 31 January Benney made a visual comparison of packaged cable ties from various outlets in the Nowra area and found there were matches with the cable ties found at Taber's house in the carport and cable ties from K-Mart and Ison & Co in Nowra.
55 Benney also examined duct tapes found by police during the search of Taber's house. He concluded that the duct tape found in the rear yard was not of the same type as the duct tape used on Mrs Alchin. The two new rolls of duct tape found in the bedroom were different to the two scrunched up rolls of tape found in the utility. Benney concluded that these two rolls of scrunched up tape had characteristics in common with the duct tape found on Mrs Alchin. The width was the same (48mm), the colour was the same and the tapes had no pattern on them.
56 Suzanne Maria Briese from Forensic Services, Australian Federal Police, prepared a report dated 8 May 2001. On 22 January 2001 she received several items for DNA testing including blood from Mrs Alchin, Taber, Ian Styman, Shannon Styman and Leonie Ravell. She also received the duct tapes found during the search of Taber's house in the bedroom, utility and rear yard. These included item 30 described as two rolls of duct tape, item 29 described as pieces of duct tape marked item 1, which I take to be exhibit M, the two scrunched up rolls of duct tape found in the utility, and item 36, which was exhibit J, described as the duct tape found in the rear yard. Ms Briese's report of 8 May 2001 suggested that DNA testing on item 29 produced no reported result.
57 David John Royds from Forensic Services, Australian Federal Police, conducted an examination of the duct tape removed from Mrs Alchin's mouth, ankles, wrists and pillowcase as well as the duct tapes found during the search of Taber's house in the bedroom, rear yard and ute, which became respectively items 5, 6 and 7 in the report. In his report dated 22 March 2001, item 7 was described as a brown paper bag, sealed and signed by Benney, and labelled in part "three pieces of duct tape located in the rear of M/V AAE-98R at premises, 211 Old Southern Road, South Nowra". The number was the registered number of the ute. Mr Royd's evidence was that when he received them the duct tapes were split into three pieces and were scrunched up. In his report Mr Royds stated the following conclusion:
"The physical and chemical properties of the tapes from the two loci (being from the body of Joy Alchin, and from the motor vehicle AAE-98R at 211 Old Southern Road, South Nowra) were similar. This means the two tapes could have a common source.
A mechanical fit was not established between tapes from these two loci.
In the absence of a data base that reflects the range of variation and physical and chemical properties in the overall population of 'duct' tapes, the evidential value of this observation is undetermined.
A small clump of coarse wool fibres impregnated with red brown granular material was observed on a section of tape, purportedly from M/V AAE-98R at 211 Old Southern Road, South Nowra. A sample of this stain and a sample of the stain from the pillow case, purportedly from the deceased, were handed to Dr Sutton for DNA testing. The findings of her work are the subject of another report."
58 In his evidence, Mr Royds said that the wool was coarse and of a type that would be seen in carpets. A presumptive test for blood was undertaken, which came back positive, though this was not conclusive. The blood was microscopically examined and Mr Royds concluded that because the blood and fibres had mixed together, the blood was wet at the time it had come into contact with the fibres.
59 On 7 March 2001, Dr Julie-Anne Sutton received two samples. "One of these purportedly contained a sample from a pillow case associated with Mrs Alchin and the other contained a sample associated with tape from a vehicle. The proposition to be tested was: that the sample from the pillow case had the same DNA type as the sample from the tape from the vehicle." In her report of 30 March 2001 Dr Sutton identified the first as item A and the second as item B. Her report was as follows:
"2.0 EXAMINATION
2.1 The examination of each item was conducted at separate times, in separate batches and analysed on different genetic analysers.
2.2 Human blood was detected on items A and B.
2.3 Items A and B were examined using the polymerse chain reaction (PCR) method for the analysis of deoxyribonucleic acid (DNA). The DNA profiles obtained on items A and B were indistinguishable from each other at ten regions (loci) of the DNA. The results of DNA analysis from the items submitted are shown in Table 1 on page 3 of this report.
2.4 The point estimates for these profiles is one in 23.1 Billion in the general ACT population.
2.5 It can be stated with 95% confidence that the true frequency of the DNA profile as identified from both items A and B is between 1 in 13.6 Billion and 1 in 39.1 Billion in the general ACT population.
…
3.00 CONCLUSION
The human blood detected on "FC010573 complainant pillow case" (Item A) and "FCO10573 from tape FSO/168 29ii Vehicle" (Item B) could have come from the same individual. The evidential value of the observation is exceedingly high given the rarity of the profile obtained."
60 The DNA profile of the two samples examined by Dr Sutton was identical to the DNA profile obtained by Ms Briese of Mrs Alchin's blood as typed in her report using the profiler plus system. Ms Briese said in her evidence that when she examined the duct tape she had not seen any fibrous material.
61 Benney gave evidence that on 27 February 2001 after the scrunched up duct tape from the utility was first returned to Nowra police from Ms Briese, before they were sent for further analysis to Royds and Sutton, he undertook a visual examination of all the duct tapes removed from Mrs Alchin and from the search at 211 Old Southern Road, South Nowra. Some of the duct tape removed from Mrs Alchin had blood. Although he was examining all of the pieces of duct tape in proximity to each other they were on separate sheets and laid under one another. He conceded that despite his care to avoid contamination there was a possibility that there may have been a touching of the two pieces of tape. The items were put on a fresh piece of manila paper and he overlaid the paper to get them as close as he could without directly touching them. Although there was a possibility of this happening to his knowledge they had not touched at the ends. There was no possibility that they could have touched on top of each other. The examination took a couple of days and the room he conducted it in was kept secure. On 1 March 2001 he repackaged the duct tape from the utility into three separate bags.
62 Robert John Goetz, from the Department of Analytical Laboratories at Lidcombe, was called by the Crown by leave after all the accused had given evidence. He had examined the ends of the pieces of duct tape removed from Mrs Alchin and from the duct tape found by police in the utility. He examined ten areas on the duct tape found by police in the utility and DNA was recovered in five areas. Four were consistent with Mrs Alchin and an unknown individual. The appellants and Shannon Styman were all excluded.
63 Through the installation of lawfully obtained listening devices, police monitored conversations at Taber's house and on Ian Styman's mobile phone. The Crown relied on these audio tapes which were transcribed as showing a consciousness of guilt through various conversations suggesting a concern about the police investigation, lies about the money Taber and Ian Styman had in their possession and an apparent consciousness that the phones were tapped which caused a cautiousness in the conversations, some of which were preceded with "14" being said, which on the Crown case was a code to note that the conversation was being tapped. In one of these conversations, Taber was speaking to Leonie Ravell about police having taken two rolls of duct tape, but Taber made no reference to that duct tape not being his.
64 The Crown called Andrew Peake, who was a friend of Ian Styman, and through him Peake had met the appellant Taber. In early December 2000 he had been at the KFC in Nowra having lunch with Ian Styman between 12 noon and 2 pm. This was either on a Monday or Tuesday. Half an hour later, he followed Ian Styman as he drove on his motor bike to Taber's house at 211 Old Southern Road. They stayed there for five or ten minutes. He then drove to Ian Styman's house at Sanctuary Point where they stayed until about 5 or 5.30 pm. Peake was going to go out and get milk for Ian Styman's wife, which he later did. Later, Peake and Ian Styman went to Taber's house in Peake's car. They were both wearing shorts and T-shirts. They stayed at Taber's house for no more than half an hour. Ian Styman and Taber then got into Taber's mother's car (a white four door car) and Peake followed them to Taber's mother's house in Nowra. Peake was driving a red Ford Laser.
65 Ian Styman and Taber parked in the driveway and went into the house via the front. Peake waited outside and had a cigarette before walking into the house through the front door. He called out to the appellants, heard a voice from the back of the house and went there. He saw the appellants in a room, standing face to face, and one of them had his wrists tied up in black cable ties with his fists clenched and his hands in front of him. Peake's evidence was that they were making sure that the person who was tied up could not get out of the cable ties. They then cut the ties off. Peake did not actually see the cable ties being removed.
66 Peake described the appellants as standing face to face and about a metre apart; "They were tied up at one time and when I turned around they were free. I don't know who cut who free." Their faces suggested that they were "a bit shocked" when Peake came into the room. After this incident, the appellants changed into black pants and blue business shirts. The appellant, Ian Styman, had told Peake that the appellants were doing a security job that night in Wollongong. After the appellants had changed Peake told them he was going out to get milk. Taber said: "No you're coming with us." Peake said he was not. One of the appellants said: "You are."
67 Subsequently, Peake changed into a blue business shirt with a tie. Peake and the appellants got into Taber's mother's car with Ian Styman driving. This was about 6 or 7 pm. They drove to Greenwell Point and stopped at a service station where Peake was told to buy a can of WD40 or similar and was given $10. He was told to remove the blue shirt before going into the service station, which he did. On returning to the car Peake asked the appellants where they were going and was told he would find out when they got there. Fifteen minutes later they arrived in Greenwell Point and Peake was told to wear the blue shirt again. The car was driven past a bowling club. Peake marked the route taken on a map during his evidence. The car was then driven to the end of Greenwell Point near the pools and was parked there. Peake removed his blue shirt and went into a pub with the appellants where they remained for about half an hour.
68 They returned to the car. This time Peake was driving. The appellants directed him. He was told to stop the car and the appellants got out and told Peake to drive back towards the pools and wait there for them to ring him. He parked the car and waited for the call on his mobile. Fifteen or twenty minutes later, Ian Styman rang and told Peake to "come and get us". He picked the appellants up in front of the bowling club. Peake's evidence was that at some stage, either at the house or in the car, he noticed three or four cable ties, each about a metre in length, in Ian Styman's top pocket or pants. The car was driven back to Taber's mother's house. Peake was told to forget what he saw.
69 In mid-January 2001, Peake saw Ian Styman in Nowra with a 4WD. Peake asked him where he got it from and Ian Styman said he had sold his motorbike.
70 Taber's father gave evidence that in December 2000 his hours of work were 2 am to 8.30 am and 11 am to 5.30 pm at a dairy. He had come home every night until it was time to work again the next morning. He had met Peake once in 1999 and had never seen him at his house between 1 December and 23 December 2000 nor ever witnessed an incident where his son used cable ties to tie up someone. There was evidence that Taber was working in Canberra in late November/early December 2000.
71 Sharyn Styman (Ian Styman's wife) said that in December 2000 she and Ian Styman were in receipt of social security benefits and rented their house in Sanctuary Point. Around Christmas 2000, she saw Ian Styman with a surplus of money. She was aware he had bought a motorbike in early December for a few thousand dollars. He said the money came from selling his previous bike and also a computer. This evidence was corroborated by the purchaser of the computer and the bike. She gave evidence that he did security work. The last she recalled was a few years before 2000. Ian Styman would wear a blue shirt and blue pants.
72 In January 2001, Sharyn Styman saw the appellants both wearing blue business shirts. Ian Styman told her he had a security job in Wollongong. It was daytime, after lunch, when they left the house in Peake's red Ford Laser. A few hours later, Peake returned to her house. She could not recall if she had seen Ian Styman again that day. She had not seen Taber. She could not recall seeing Ian Styman again until the next morning. A few weeks later she saw the blue shirts in her wardrobe and took them to the police. She agreed that Peake had told her about a "tying up episode" in her garage, with Taber also present.
73 Peake had mentioned this when they were in Sharyn's house and again when they were travelling by car to Nowra to look for a car for Sharyn. Peake was driving and at one point became upset and pulled over. He said he was upset because of this "tying up business". Sharyn had to drive the car home. Peake had talked for a couple of hours. He had also told her that the shirts were used as a uniform while they were checking someone's house in Greenwell Point and that they were also used on the night when Ian told her he had the security job in Wollongong.
74 In evidence, Sharyn said that in early January 2001 Ian brought home a Suzuki Soft Top 4WD which Crown evidence later established was purchased on 7 January 2001. Taber was with Ian when he drove it up the driveway. She asked him where he got the money from. He said it was from work he had done in Canberra. On the same day, Ian also brought home a pine TV cabinet which he said had been on lay-by. Later, after Ian had been charged, Sharyn found the receipt for it in her bedroom. There was no reference to its having been on lay-by. Ian sold the Suzuki a few weeks later.
75 The day before Sharyn saw the Suzuki at her house, Ian and she had a discussion about her going with him to Sydney to look for a car. It had been a last minute arrangement. It was 6 January 2001 and they were both at home. That afternoon he changed his mind and told Sharyn that he was going to Sydney with Taber. This happened after Ian had received a telephone call from Taber.
76 Sharyn did not see Ian again that night. She had no recollection of him coming to bed. She said in cross-examination that after Ian had told her that he was going to Sydney with Taber she went about her own business and did not recall whether Ian was home or not. Later she agreed that her recollection was that Ian had left the house after they had had an argument. She did not see him again until the next afternoon when he returned home with the Suzuki. She did not know where he was between 11 pm and 5 am.
77 Usually Sharyn went to bed by 11 pm. She had not woken at all during that night. She agreed that Ian was often in the garage or on the internet until early in the morning and could have been in the garage that night working on computers and playstations. In cross-examination, she agreed that she had told police when she was interviewed that Ian had been on the internet that night and also had been working on Playstations. In evidence she said that she thought Ian had been at home though this was based on what she used to observe of Ian around that time, not that night in particular. She agreed that she had told police that she thought Ian might have been at Taber's house, though this had only been an assumption.
78 In cross-examination, Sharyn agreed that Ian was always talking about buying cars and motorbikes. She did not know that he was actually going to buy a car. A week before he brought home the Suzuki there had been talk about trading in her car for a newer model. As far as she knew he was not saving to buy a car.
79 Sharyn and Ian did not share bank accounts and she had no knowledge of his having enough money to afford the car he bought. She agreed in cross-examination that Ian received extra money from the work he did with playstations and computers, as well as, security work. Ian and she did not discuss money but she did not expect him to have that much.
80 Peake gave further evidence in which he said that the blue shirts identified by Sharyn were similar to those worn by Ian and Taber. In cross-examination, he agreed he may have told Sharyn that he had seen Taber tying up Ian with cable ties. He did not recall this and denied ever telling her that he had seen this happen in the garage. He confirmed that what he saw happened in Taber's mother's home.
81 Ms Briese gave evidence that she conducted DNA tests on the two blue shirts. She concluded that Ian Styman could not be excluded as a contributor to DNA on one of the shirts which was a mixture of DNA types. The deceased, Taber and Shannon Styman were all excluded as contributors. For the other shirt, Ian Styman, Shannon Styman, Taber and the deceased were all excluded as contributors.
82 On 5 November 2002 during the trial, Leonie Ravell, Taber's de facto, entered a plea of guilty to hindering the investigation in relation to Taber between 19 and 24 January 2001. She gave evidence (by leave) that on 6 January 2001, around 5 pm, she was at home with Taber. Around 7 or 8 pm she went to bed and Taber left the house. She did not see if he left in a particular vehicle. Around that time, Taber was driving his mother's white Hyundai. When she went to bed there was no one else in the house. When Taber left the house, Leonie was in her bedroom and heard voices from the driveway. She was pretty sure they were the voices of Ian and Shannon Styman. There came a time when she no longer heard the voices but she did not see anyone leave. She heard a car starting but did not see who was in that car. The car drove away and she heard no more voices after that. She then went to sleep.
83 It was suggested to her that Taber went out briefly to get some take away food. She could not recall that. At around 6 am the next morning Leonie recalled being woken up by Taber. There was nothing to suggest that he came to bed the night before. She may have asked him where he had been but could not recall what he said. It may have been that he had simply been out. She agreed she did not know if he had meant he had been out all night or only on the morning of 7 January 2001. They went to Sydney in the white Hyundai with Ian and Shannon Styman to look for a car. That morning was the first she knew about a proposal to go to Sydney. On the way she slept in the back seat. At no stage was the car stopped on a bridge and a bag thrown out.
84 Leonie had no memory of getting up during the night. At no time during the night did she hear a car leave her house or any conversation outside between Taber, Ian or Shannon Styman. Her bedroom was near the carport. She expected she would have woken if a car was driven in her driveway. She agreed that Ian Styman might have visited the house on 6 January 2001. It was suggested that Taber and Ian Styman had spent the afternoon setting up a playstation to the TV with a car racing game. She did not recall a Playstation in the house. She denied arguing with Taber about his staying up and playing the game all night. She agreed she had been outside sunbaking for most of that day. She agreed in cross-examination that she had told police that earlier on that day Ian came to the house on his motor bike and had left it there and borrowed the white Hyundai. Shannon Styman had also been there. He came on his motorbike. She told police that she recalled being woken up the next morning around 6 am by the sound of the car. She said in evidence that at that time she had heard voices outside, one of which was Ian Styman's. She had also heard Shannon and seen the white Hyundai.
85 John Styman was the brother of Ian and the father of Shannon. He worked as a volunteer at Nowra Police Station. On a Sunday night in March 2001, Ian came to his house and asked to see him outside. Shannon was also present. Ian told John that he had been "DNA'd" from the Nowra Police and asked John what would happen if the DNA came back positive and "if there was any way that the DNA could be changed before it came back". John Styman told him there was not. At that time Ian was very shaky, he looked upset and was in tears. Ian told John that the police were trying to charge him, Shannon and Taber with the murder of Mrs Alchin. John Styman reported this conversation to the police. This evidence was not led against Taber.
86 John Styman was cross-examined along the lines that at about the time of this conversation he had been taking medications to assist him with pain from damaged muscles and nerves. He agreed that the medication made him drowsy. He said that Ian had asked him if there was any way that the DNA could be tampered with. He was not sure if Ian had asked him if the DNA could be planted. He did not recall Ian saying anything about the police in that conversation. He agreed that after he had made his statement to police he said he "truly misunderstood whether I was asked by Ian to tamper with any evidence".
87 Cheryle Ravell, who was Mrs Alchin's sister and Leonie's mother, gave evidence that a week after 24 January 2001 she visited 211 Old Southern Road and fed the dogs. She found an exercise book which had quotes for buildings and drawings of buildings. In the middle was a drawing of a house which looked like her sister's house. She tore the page out of the book and kept it in the console of her car. She showed it to her daughter, Melinda, and also mentioned it to Leonie. No one else had access to her car. Subsequently, she discovered that the sketch went missing from her car. This evidence was corroborated by Melinda, who drew a similar sketch. In an interview by Detective Senior Constable Paul Johnstone, she was asked why she had taken so long to tell the police officer about it. She did not know. She agreed that she had said that the map she had found was damning evidence and that it was a "golden opportunity to get rid of Peter" someone she did not like.
88 Paul Styman was a brother of Ian Styman. He gave evidence that Ian, Shannon and Taber came up to Queensland in the latter part of February 2001 for the purpose of work. He overheard a conversation between Taber and Leonie Ravell. Taber said: "If it wasn't for you, we wouldn't be in this shit". Paul Styman took this to mean that Leonie had wanted to drive back to New South Wales.
89 Terry Daniel Wilke did building work for Taber. He gave evidence that in February 2001 Taber was going to Queensland. He told Wilke that the police were accusing him of Mrs Alchin's murder. Wilke asked him if he had done it. Taber said he had not.
90 The Crown called several witnesses to give evidence that Taber was not very financially secure before January 2001. He was often short of cash and borrowed money from people including his father, David George Taber. David Taber gave evidence that Taber would at times be short of cash and would ask for money in exchange for cheques. He had lent Taber a few hundred dollars before 23 December 2000. Taber also sought advances from employers who contracted him for building work and sought advance payments for building work being undertaken. He did this because he was short of money for himself and for the payment by him of wages to his workers. He also pawned electrical items, including a mobile phone, during 1999 and 2000 for loans ranging from $50 to $170. He would repay the loans in accordance with his agreement with the pawnbroker. On 8 January 2001 he repaid his most recent loan and interest in the amount of $360. Evidence of the finances of Taber and Ian Styman, before January 2001, was supported by various banking records tendered.
91 Meegan Herne, who had met Leonie Ravell at the end of 2000, gave evidence that Taber was like everyone else, tight with money until pay day. Taber and Leonie had plans to go to Queensland after Christmas but as far as she knew they had a quiet New Year and did not go. Melinda Ravell gave evidence that, a few weeks before Christmas 2000, Taber asked to borrow a couple of thousand dollars to go to Queensland but Melinda did not have the money. On Christmas Day, Melinda and Leonie came to their mother, Cheryle's, house. Taber said he had "hocked" his tools so as to have money to spend. He had about $200 in his wallet.
92 Meegan Herne said she had had conversations with Leonie about Mrs Alchin lending money to her mother and sister and that legal action was begun when the money was not repaid fast enough. Herne could not recall if Taber was present during these conversations.
93 Donyelle Louise Turner gave evidence that she moved into the premises at 211 Old Southern Road just before Christmas 2000 where she was present during a conversation with Taber and Leonie in the lounge room. She was renting a room from Taber and Leonie from Christmas 2000. Taber and Leonie were discussing the need for a few thousand dollars for a holiday. Taber suggested to Leonie that they ask Melinda for a loan. Taber rang Melinda on his mobile and went outside. When he returned he said that Melinda could not lend them the money. Taber then suggested that they visit Mrs Alchin to see if she could lend them money but Leonie did not want to go because she knew that others had borrowed money from Mrs Alchin before. Turner, Leonie and Taber were all together in the lounge room. Leonie expressed her disappointment about Mrs Alchin's refusal to lend them money and said "we can always kill her … not that anybody would notice… because no one ever saw her". Taber responded that somebody would notice that she was gone. Turner said that Leonie then said that "nobody would notice because nobody saw her anyway and her Mum hadn't seen her for a while" and that she and Melinda had planned it a while ago. Turner thought they were joking around. She conceded in cross-examination that there was a possibility that she was mistaken about Taber being actually present at the conversation. In cross-examination, Turner agreed that she had often smoked cannabis while living in the house, but she denied that she was ever in a "stoned" state.
94 The Crown led evidence that from January 2001, both Taber and Leonie had bought items of value. Leonie also appeared to have been carrying a lot of money when she went shopping. Cheryle gave evidence that in January 2001 she went shopping with Leonie who had money on her, in particular a couple of grey $100 notes. Cheryle asked Leonie about the money and was told that Taber had paid her back for rent money. Leonie bought a 68 inch TV, a PlayStation and a second hand fridge and washing machine. This was probably a week before Cheryle found out that Mrs Alchin had died on 19 January.
95 Melinda gave evidence that on 8 January 2001, she went to Taber's house and saw Taber installing a fridge in the kitchen. Taber said he had bought it from the hock shop. A week or so later Melinda saw a new TV and other appliances. She recalled they had conversations suggesting that the items had been purchased that week.
96 On 7 January 2001, Meegan Herne went to Melbourne. She returned on 14 January 2001. When she went to 211 Old Southern Road she noticed that it was newly furnished with a stereo, a TV, a PlayStation, new fishing gear and new decorations, as well as new shoes and clothes. She stayed there for a week and went shopping with Leonie in Nowra. Meegan Herne noticed that Leonie had "quite a bit" of money on her and was buying things she would probably never use; that Leonie could not fold her wallet because there was so much money in it; and that Leonie had about half a centimetre of old $100 notes and not many new ones. She and Leonie bumped into Ian Styman. Meegan Herne noticed that he had a new Suzuki Soft Top.
97 On 3 January 2001, Donyelle Turner went to Sydney. She stayed until 16 January 2001. While she was away she received a call from Taber asking her how she was going to pay the rent. She told him that she had organised it with Leonie who was to cover her while she was away. Taber was not happy with this arrangement, so she offered to deposit the money in his bank account which she did in an amount of $45. When she arrived back at 211 Old Southern Road she noticed similar items as those noticed by Meegan Herne, and Cheryle and Melinda. During the week, Taber bought a new fishing rod and Leonie bought clothes. On 17 January 2001, Turner went shopping with Leonie and noticed Leonie buying items which made Turner suspicious. That night when Taber and Leonie went out, Turner went into their bedroom and looked through Leonie's wallet. She saw three or four old $100 notes and a few newer notes, totalling $900. She also noticed a paid mobile phone bill for around $500.
98 Sarah Burgess worked at Nowra K-Mart as a check-out operator. She met Leonie. One day Leonie and her boyfriend came through the check-out with two trolleys filled with household items totalling about $1,500. Taber handed Leonie the money which she then handed to Burgess in old $100 notes. Burgess identified the receipt she issued which had been found by police during a search of 211 Old Southern Road. Ian Styman and Taber also made purchases in cash using old $100 notes during January 2001.
99 On 7 January 2001, Ian Styman bought a Suzuki Sierra from Alan Stoker. Stoker placed the ad in the Trading Post and met three males and a female for the car to be inspected. It was taken for a test drive. One of the males agreed to buy it for $4,300. This male went to a Hyundai and returned with the cash in old $100 notes. A receipt was made out to Ian Styman though wrongly dated 8 January 2001. A certificate of registration for this vehicle noted the transfer of the registration to Ian Styman.
100 On 7 January 2001, Taber bought a white Ford Utility from a car dealership in Villawood. Mustafa Batak was the salesman. He recalled two males and a female were present during the sale. One of the males had a beer gut. He said they needed a cheap utility. The price agreed on was $1,400. The white utility was bought on condition that the exhaust was repaired that day. The other male told Batak that they had the cash and showed Batak a bum bag containing a roll of money, about 2 inches thick. A contract was drawn up in Taber's name, though the sale price on that contract was $100. The paper work was completed in the office where the other male handed over the money to Taber. The money was counted and Batak noted that it was in old $100 notes, which he identified as similar to one which had been handed by Taber to Detective Senior Constable Davies during the search of Taber's house. Batak commented about these old notes and Taber said they were still in use in Nowra. The owner of the car dealership also counted the money and saw that it was comprised of old $100 notes. He asked Taber where he got the money from because he had not seen that money around. Taber said that it was still around.
101 On 8 January 2001, a male with a young woman and two children looked at a Honda motor bike which had been advertised for sale by Martin and Patricia Carter. It sold for $900, which was paid in cash. Mrs Carter was unable to recall what type of notes were used though she believed they were $50 notes. Mr Cater believed that the notes were "more like paper currency rather than plastic notes" but could not be sure. A receipt was issued in the name of Shannon Styman.
102 Evidence from banking institutions and the Reserve Bank was that new $100 notes came into circulation on 15 May 1996. No $100 notes were issued from ATM machines in Nowra. Cheryle had worked as a bar attendant at the Greenwell Point Bowling Club. She had once seen an old $100 note pass through the club. She recalled it because she did not see those notes "that often". Evidence from Australia Post was that no "cash" mail had been sent to Ian Styman from November 2000 to January 2001.
103 On 24 January 2001, after Taber returned to 211 Old Southern Road from Nowra Police (following the search of his house), there were several people still at the house. Taber was asked by Cheryle about the money she had seen with Leonie and if he had any old notes. Meegan Herne told Taber she had also seen old notes. Taber said he may have had one or two. Cheryle told him she had seen more of these notes. Taber said he had sold a shed and was paid in old notes and that his employer had paid him in old notes. Cheryl and Melinda expressed scepticism. Taber said his father had lent money to him.
104 In cross-examination, Marie Rose Gale, a sister of Mrs Alchin, who was also present at the house, said that Taber also said he had $8,000 in old notes and was owed another $5,000.
105 A discussion took place about what had happened at the Police Station. Taber made a call on his mobile phone. Ian Styman came by and picked up Taber in his Suzuki 4WD. Someone else was in the back seat. Taber left the house and returned later. Later Meegan Herne saw Taber, Ian and Shannon Styman in the 4WD at a service station. Taber arrived home around half an hour afterwards. He was upset because the police had taken all the new things he had worked very hard for.
106 Taber said that if he had parked his ute on the other side of the road the police could not have touched it. Meegan Herne said in cross-examination that in this conversation he had been referring to a $100 note the police had taken off him. Evidence was led from other persons who had paid Taber for building work he had undertaken. This was to the effect that he had been paid by cheque or in cash in new notes.
107 The Crown tendered mobile phone records. On 7 January 2001, at 3.25 am, a 9 second call was registered on the Nowra tower from Taber's mobile phone to Ian Styman's mobile phone. At 5. 25 am, there was a call to Vodafone, which registered on the Mount Cambewarra tower which was further north. On 7 January 2001, at 4.31 am, there was a call from Ian Styman's mobile phone to Taber's mobile phone which was listed as a diverted call and lasted for 2 seconds. A call made at 5.09 am to Vodafone registered on the Nowra tower and at 6.07 am registered on the Saddleback Mountain tower. From 9.42 am there were a series of calls registered on the Merrylands tower.
108 Gareth Arthur Simmons, from Vodafone, gave evidence that the strongest cell that picks up a mobile call is generally the closest one. If a phone call was made from the Greenwell Point area, in which Mrs Alchin's house was located, the most likely receiving site would be the Nowra site. Simmons and Detective Sergeant Angelo Memmolo conducted an experiment using Ian Styman's mobile number by making calls from 1/16 Frederick Street, Sanctuary Point, Ian Styman's house, and then from the corner of Sanctuary Point Road and Paradise Road. The Nowra site did not register on any of these calls.
109 The Crown relied on this evidence to show that Ian Styman and Taber were not at their respective houses when the calls were made.
110 Ian Styman was interviewed by police on three occasions, once on 3 March 2001 and twice on 26 March 2001.
111 Ian Styman was questioned about money he had earned and spent. He had paid for his Suzuki in new notes with money accumulated from work. He denied having paid with old notes. He had not been near Taber when Taber purchased the white ute on 7 January 2001. At that time, Ian was across the road in Taber's mother's white Hyundai. He did not know how Taber paid for the ute.
112 Ian Styman did not recall what he was doing on 5, 6 and 7 January 2001 though he would have had no reason to be out in the early morning. He denied having been out on the night of 6 January 2001, though he may have gone to Taber's house and then to another person's house in relation to a boat. He had returned home before midnight. He denied having ever been to Mrs Alchin's house and said he did not know her. He was questioned about the call made from his mobile at 3.25 am on 7 January 2001. He could not explain what the call was about nor why it had registered from the Nowra tower.
113 Ian Styman was also asked about calls tapped by police in which he spoke of his concern in relation to DNA evidence. He said he had become concerned about DNA being planted after a detective had told him he would be going down, no matter what. He denied ever speaking to John Styman about interfering with DNA results.
114 Ian Styman told police he had gone to Taber's house, on 24 January 2001 after Taber returned from the police station, because he wanted to know why Taber had told police he had money in his bum bag. Ian denied having a bum bag when he went to Sydney to buy a car. Sergeant Angelo Memmolo denied in cross-examination that following the interview of 3 March 2001, he told Ian, "You're going down for this no matter what".
115 Taber was interviewed by police on 24 January 2001. During this interview he was questioned about the money he used to make the purchases he made (such as his car and the purchases from Nowra K-Mart) and in particular how he managed to be in possession of old notes. He said he had accumulated money from jobs he had done and that he was sometimes paid with old notes. He kept the money he was accumulating hidden from Leonie and usually at his parents' house. He denied there had ever been an attempt to borrow money from Mrs Alchin or that there had been a conversation about killing her. He said he did not know of Mrs Alchin having a substantial amount of cash; he did not know her.
116 During the interview with Taber this interchange occurred:
" … we had two rolls of grey duct tape. A. Yeah.
Q. Where did they come from? A. Um, South Nowra servo.
Q. The purpose of having those rolls of tape is for what, can you tell me that please? A. Um, well you also found some in the back of me ute wrapped up.
Q. Two rolls of it, yes. A. Yeah, What we do is because the steel we use is so light um, we wrap the tape around it to hold it all together then you can sit it all on your ute in one bundle, tie it down, just basically to, and the same with um, … from … and stuff like that. Yeah, 'cause, 'cause you can't tie them down, like you've, you've got a, a ridge on an angle, the steel angle like that. If you go to tie that down with a rope …
Q. Mr Taber, do you, do you have cause to use those ties, … A. Yeah.
Q. … plastic ties? A. Yeah."