Page 120

Supreme Court of Western Australia

PERTH

October 15th

Mr Wynnstay is called to the stand. He has vivid red hair, pale skin and freckles. When he announces his job title, Blood-Spatter Analyst, I almost laugh: he looks like he’s been living his work. Then I have to glance down as I remember your blood-spattered face, my handiwork before I tipped you into a hole. When I look back at Mr Wynnstay, I make myself see freckles, not blood, and remind myself that he was part of the forensic team who scraped and dusted all over your den and beyond, collecting specimens.

He’s doing a good job for you; he sounds impressive. But, standing straight with his stiff collar and long words and reason, he’s everything you’re not. He nods in response to one of Mr Lowe’s questions, and I realise I haven’t been paying attention again.

‘Yes, it is correct that Mr MacFarlane’s blood was found in the hire car,’ he says. ‘We found blood samples in the house, and on the veranda floorboards, also.’

‘Can you also confirm that blood samples were found on this spade?’ Mr Lowe askes.

A picture of the spade—the one I found in your storage shed—appears on the screen.

‘That’s correct. Despite an apparent attempt to remove the blood samples with soap and water, the evidence therewas still very much detectable,’ he says.

Which apparently makes the fact that I cleaned it look more suspicious. I notice a few jury members look my way as Mr Wynnstay continues to describe how much blood was found, where on the spade, and how that indicates the way a victim could be struck. It’s easy to see where the argument is going.

‘It’s plausible, then, Mr Wynnstay, that the defendant struck Tyler MacFarlane with that very spade, and then tried to clean the spade afterwards with soap and water?’

‘It is possible, yes.’

‘Would you say it is likely this spade was used to dig the holes found at the side of the house, known by the defendant as the den?’

‘It is.’

‘And presumably this spade could dig other holes that the police never found. Could this spade dig a hole big enough to bury a body, Mr Wynnstay?’

‘Objection,’ says Jodie, sighing. ‘Conjecture!’

The police dug hole after hole—making ours look insignificant in comparison—searching for your body. But they found no body. No murder weapon. Unless you count the spade. But I have my own defence for that. When I take the stand in two days time, and Mr Lowe asks me about it, I will say that you tried to attack me after an argument, and that I warded you off. I will say you threatened me.

When Jodie cross-examines Mr Whynnstay, she reminds the jury of the lack of evidence.

‘Beyond reasonable doubt,’ she says. ‘Without a body, there will always be doubt. Without a clear murder weapon, without a clear motive, there will always, always be doubt.Doubt runs all through this case, including through Mr Wynnstay’s evidence and testimony.’

Mr Lowe stands. ‘Objection! The defence is not questioning the witness.’

Jodie nods, turns back to her notes.

‘Mr Wynnstay, we have seen evidence suggesting how conflicted the defendant was in her feelings for Mr Macfarlane. And yet to kill someone with a spade suggests a large degree of strength and determination would be required for death to ensue, would it not?’

‘That’s correct.’

‘Approximately how hard and how many times might a person swing a spade to kill a fully grown man?’

‘That would depend on how strong the person swinging the spade was.’

Jodie pauses to look my way. It’s no accident, I’m sure, that her eyes linger on my belly, on my hands clasped across it. ‘How many times do you think the defendant would need to swing that particular spade to kill Tyler MacFarlane? Is it even possible, do you think?’

I don’t look at Mr Wynnstay now. Meek and mild, I look down at my hands. But I could have done it. If I’d swung one more time that day, if I’d buried your head with the rest of your body.

‘I’m afraid I’m certainly not an expert in body-strength mechanics,’ Mr Wynnstay says.

Jodie returns to Mr Wynnstay’s evidence, and how he obtained it. She queries his methods of sample preservation in extreme heat. Charts of his results are projected onto the screen for her to scrutinise further.

‘It seems there is doubt inherent in even the so-calledfacts of this case,’ she continues. ‘Would you agree, Mr Wynnstay, that there is an element of doubt in your findings as to how long the blood found on the spade had been there?’