Murder trial set to go to jury

THE jury in the Louis James Mahony murder trial is expected to retire to consider a verdict on Monday.

For much of today’s proceedings the Toowoomba Supreme Court jury listened to Justice James Douglas summing up the case.

Justice Douglas summarised the evidence presented by the various witnesses over the 13 days of the trial for the seven men and five women of the jury.

Mahony, 44, has pleaded not guilty to a charge of murder arising from the death of his de facto wife Lainie Coldwell who he claimed to have found at the base of a large gum tree in the front yard of their Charleville home on August 23, 2009.

Lainie, 36, had a serious wound to the back of her head and Mahony claimed she had fallen from the tree while removing party lights while he napped inside.

That story was initially accepted and the police had not created a crime scene at the 11 Walter St home nor done any thorough investigation of the home that day, the court heard.

Lainie died in hospital two days later after being declared brain dead and having her life support turned off.

However, suspicions arose when it was discovered Louis Mahony had taken out a $1.5 million life insurance policy against Lainie and himself just two months before her death which the Crown claimed Lainie knew nothing about.

It also became known Lainie was planning to leave Louis and take their daughter with her because he was having an affair.

In his closing address, Crown prosecutor Carl Heaton suggested Mahony, an ex-police officer, knew about police investigations and crime scenes and submitted he had killed Lainie and staged the scene to make it look as if she had fallen from the tree.

A search of a computer seized from Mahony’s home found it had been used to do internet searches before Lainie’s death of topics such as “poisons”, “accidental deaths”, “head injuries” and “forensic science regarding head injuries”.

Mr Heaton suggested Mahony’s F250 truck which had been backed up to the gum tree with a ladder rising from the tray up into the tree, had been parked there to block any view from the front of the house to the back yard where a home gymnasium was set up.

Mr Heaton suggested Lainie Coldwell had been struck in the gym before being placed under the tree.

Justice Douglas is expected to complete his summing up on Monday.