‘Just dreadful’: murder trial told of moment woman discovered ex-husband’s beaten body
After failing to hear from her ex-husband for several days before Christmas 2020, Denise McCarthy went to his Sydney unit and discovered his brutally bashed body.
Giving evidence at Narelle Fiona Smith’s murder trial on Wednesday, McCarthy said on 20 December 2020 she had dropped by her former husband Peter McCarthy’s unit in South Coogee after repeated calls went unanswered.
“I’d been trying to ring him for almost three days and the phone kept saying this number is not available,” she told the NSW supreme court. “I thought ‘Well that’s a bit weird’.”
Denise McCarthy went to her exhusband’s apartment with a spare key and, after calling his name with no response, entered to find the unit a mess.
She told the jury she saw the 77year-old lying on his back on the floor. His jeans had been partly pulled down and his legs were tied with what at first appeared to be a skipping rope, McCarthy said.
She described the moment as “just dreadful”, saying a stack of linen, Tshirts and other objects had been piled on top of his face. “I saw that it was all full of blood,” she told the court. He had no pulse and his body was very cold, she added.
Broken furniture such as a lamp, chairs and coffee tables were strewn over the floor, the jury heard.
Smith, 47, has been accused of murdering Peter McCarthy with a frying pan after the pair left a neighbour’s flat early on the afternoon of 17 December 2020.
She has pleaded not guilty, pointing the finger at another woman who knew the lawyer and had access to his flat.
McCarthy said a number of items, including gold cufflinks, were missing from her ex-husband’s apartment.
She admitted her relationship with the 77-year-old had become strained because of his drinking habit and “fondness for the ladies” but said they had still kept in touch, including to organise Christmas gatherings each year.
Prosecutors allege a man known by Smith used Peter McCarthy’s ATM cards after the murder and that Smith herself used his Opal card to travel around Sydney.
Det Sgt Sharon Ciregna was a forensic investigator charged with examining the crime scene.
She testified on Wednesday that bloodstains and blood spatter had been found throughout the flat, from the wooden front door to the heater, chairs, a curtain and a drawer within the home.
Drawers were missing from cabinets, cupboard doors were open and clumps of white hair were found at the crime scene, she said.
A damaged frying pan and two bloodied three kilogram dumbbells were found next to the victim’s body, which was partially covered by a blue tarpaulin, the jury heard.
“The handle had broken off and the actual fry pan itself was misshapen. It was dented and damaged,” she said.
Peter McCarthy had bruises on his hands and one of his teeth had been knocked out, the police officer added.
Examining the area surrounding his apartment block, Ciregna said she retrieved a wet pair of denim jeans that “looked out of place” lying on the ground. However, no leads came from this, she told the jury.
The trial before justice Mark Ierace is continuing.