A cheating husband murdered his wife in their bed and staged a fictitious violent home invasion to cover it up after she asked him for a divorce, jurors have been told.
Aaron Govendir is standing trial in the NSW Supreme Court after pleading not guilty to murdering his wife Denise at their home in Sydney's Dover Heights nearly three decades ago.
Now 83 years old, he is accused of bludgeoning his wife to death in their bed and waiting until her body went cold to call triple zero.
The couple had been married for 30 years but their union was “plagued by arguments” and had weathered a previous six-month separation, crown prosecutor Christopher Taylor told the court on Monday.
Before her death on March 10, 1998, Ms Govendir, 53, had spoken to a solicitor about her marriage breaking down irretrievably and her wish to amicably divide their assets.
Her husband had a stake in a company believed to be worth millions of dollars but she was focused on securing half of their family home, which they had previously discussed, Mr Taylor told jurors.
Govendir later admitted to having "a few affairs" with other women, the court was told.
The couple’s lawyers exchanged correspondence but the jury is expected to hear that days before his wife's death, Govendir instructed his solicitor he wanted all communication about the separation to cease.
Mr Taylor foreshadowed that a real estate agent would testify he received a call from Govendir on March 3 telling him not to contact the couple again about the potential sale of their house.
“The Crown says the accused had no desire for the divorce to occur,” he said.
“Conversely, the deceased had a desire for the marriage to come to an end and for there to be a fair division of assets."
Ms Govendir was last seen alive by her daughter about 10pm on March 9 - two and a half hours before a neighbour heard a scream, the court was told.
About 2am on March 10, her husband called triple zero and told them someone had entered the home, hit him and tied him up in the lounge room.
He later said he had been awoken by a knock at the door by someone claiming to be police.
“Oh shit, my wife, I’ve got to check on my wife," Govendir told the triple-zero operator.
In two subsequent triple-zero calls, the jury is expected to hear Govendir say his wife was covered in blood and he didn’t know if she had a pulse.
“We’ve had a burglar or something,” he said before later telling the operator there had been two assailants.
"I think they've hurt her bad.”
Paramedics found Ms Govendir's cold body in a pool of blood with her feet cable-tied together, the court was told.
She had significant and traumatic head injuries consistent with blows and a hand injury consistent with defensive wounds, Mr Taylor said.
Her undisturbed purse was found next to her bed with her cards and $240 cash inside, the jury was told.
Govendir was examined by a doctor who recorded he had minor injuries to his scalp which would have been unlikely to cause him to lose consciousness, as he told police he had.
His injuries were not found to be consistent with being bound with cable ties to the point of immobility, according to the prosecutor.
After an extensive search for the couple's car, the vehicle was found locked and parked in a street a 20-minute drive away from the Dover Heights home, the court was told.
Govendir’s lawyer is expected to make a brief opening statement after the prosecutor concludes his remarks on Tuesday.
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