Latest news with #LindyLucena
ABC News
10 hours ago
- ABC News
Court shown police body camera footage of Robert Huber leading police to his partner's body
Robert Karl Huber is on trial for the alleged murder of his partner Lindy Lucena in 2023. Coffs Harbour Supreme Court was shown police body camera footage of the moment Mr Huber led police to Ms Lucena's body at a laneway in Ballina behind a Salvation Army centre. Supplied: Supreme Court Media
ABC News
13 hours ago
- ABC News
Decision looming in murder trial of man charged with killing Lindy Lucena in Ballina
The NSW Supreme Court has been told a man accused of murdering his partner in Ballina in 2023 concocted multiple false stories when talking to police. Robert Karl Huber is accused of killing 64-year-old Lindy Lucena, also known as "Kimmy", whose body was found in a laneway near a Salvation Army Centre more than two-and-a-half years ago. Crown prosecutor Susan Oliver today told the court Ms Lucena may have been dead for at least three hours before Mr Huber walked into the Ballina Police Station. Mr Huber has pleaded not guilty to the murder and manslaughter of Ms Lucena, and is facing a judge-alone trial in Coffs Harbour. At the start of proceedings last Wednesday, Mr Huber pleaded guilty to assault occasioning actual bodily harm over an incident that occurred on Boxing Day 2022, eight days before Ms Lucena's death. The court heard Mr Huber and Ms Lucena met in 2017, and that their relationship had become volatile from around 2019. The pair became homeless following the Lismore floods in 2022 and had been staying in a Ballina caravan park. On Boxing Day 2022, Mr Huber was charged with assaulting Ms Lucena in their motor home. The court heard that following his release from custody on December 28, Mr Huber and Ms Lucena were kicked out of the caravan park. The two had unsuccessfully tried to stay at a local motor inn before relocating with their possessions to a small courtyard on the side of the Ballina Salvation Army on the afternoon of January 3. Ms Oliver told the court Mr Huber blamed Ms Lucena for their homelessness. She said their relationship was one characterised by Mr Huber lashing out at Ms Lucena physically when things got bad. The court had previously heard evidence that a passer-by called triple-0 at 7:03pm on January 3, 2023, telling the operator he had heard a man "bashing the hell out of his woman". Body-worn camera footage was also played for the court earlier in the trial, showing Mr Huber allegedly leading the police to Ms Lucena's body around 12:30am on January 4. In the footage, Mr Huber is seen gesturing to Ms Lucena's body and allegedly telling police, "She doesn't look too good, does she?" When asked in court what they were arguing about earlier in the evening, Mr Huber said, "I don't recall. It's usually something minor." The prosecution said the forensic pathologist who carried out the post-mortem on Ms Lucena determined that she suffered multiple blows and died of craniofacial injuries. The court heard some of her injuries were consistent with being grasped and held firmly, and that facial lacerations caused her to lose a lot of blood. Defence counsel Jason Watts is due to start his closing arguments later this afternoon. Mr Watts previously told the court he would argue it could not be proven beyond reasonable doubt that any assault by the accused caused Ms Lucena's death.
ABC News
18-06-2025
- ABC News
Man accused of killing Lindy Lucena in Ballina pleads guilty to earlier assault
A Lismore man accused of killing his partner has pleaded guilty to assaulting her the month before her death, while maintaining his plea of not guilty to murder. Robert Karl Huber is accused of killing Lindy Lucena on the night of January 3, 2023, after her battered body was discovered in a laneway at Ballina, in northern New South Wales. On the first day of a judge-alone trial at the Supreme Court in Coffs Harbour, Mr Huber reversed a previous not-guilty plea over an assault against Ms Lucena eight days before her death. Reading agreed facts signed by Mr Huber, Crown Prosecutor Susan Oliver said the assault took place when the couple were living in a caravan park after being displaced by the 2022 floods. "On the evening of December 26, 2022 during an argument the accused punched the deceased in the face, giving [her] a black eye," Ms Oliver said. The crown prosecutor told the court the accused and deceased had a "mutually loving" relationship marked by volatile outbursts from Mr Huber. The court heard this became worse after the pair became homeless, having moved out of the caravan park in the days before Ms Lucena's death. Ms Oliver said the pair had decided to sleep in a courtyard behind the Ballina Salvation Army store on the evening of January 2, after moving their belongings there earlier that day. She said police were first informed about Ms Lucena's death after Mr Huber went to the Ballina Police Station in the early hours of the following day. The court heard Mr Huber told police he had woken up from a nap and found Ms Lucena unresponsive. He went with police to the laneway, where officers found Ms Lucena's body. "He denied knowing how she got the blood and injuries to her face," Ms Oliver said. Seated in the dock, Mr Huber shook his head as the prosecution said Ms Lucena's cause of death was due to injuries from a "sustained assault of numerous blows". Delivering his opening statement for the defence, barrister Jason Watts said he would argue that it could not be proved beyond reasonable doubt that any assault by the accused on the deceased caused her death. Mr Watts referred to post-mortem reports that found brain swelling was not included among Ms Lucina's injuries. "In [the report's] view, that is because death occurs before those changes can take place in the brain," he said. The court heard testimony from witnesses including bystanders and medical experts would be heard over approximately eight days of hearings.
