Robert Karl Huber found not guilty of murder of Lindy Lucena in Ballina
Robert Karl Huber had pleaded not guilty to both the murder and manslaughter of his partner Lindy "Kimmy" Lucena, who was found dead in a courtyard behind a Salvation Army centre in Ballina in 2023.
In delivering his verdict at Sydney's Supreme Court on Monday, Justice Stephen Rothman said although Huber had committed a "very serious" assault, the Crown had not proven Huber intended to kill Ms Lucena.
"Notwithstanding the seriousness of injuries inflicted, those injuries of themselves would not have caused death and were not serious enough to cause death," Justice Rothman said.
After delivering the verdict on the murder charge, Justice Rothman found Huber guilty of manslaughter over Ms Lucena's death.
At the beginning of the judge-alone Supreme Court trial, sitting in Coffs Harbour, Huber admitted to assaulting Ms Lucena on Boxing Day in 2022, eight days before her death.
The two had been in a relationship since 2017, when Ms Lucena moved from Sydney to the Northern Rivers.
At the time of her death, the pair were homeless, having left the Ballina caravan park where they'd been living for months after being displaced in the 2022 Lismore floods.
In delivering his verdict, Justice Rothman said an assault by Huber led to the pair being evicted.
"They were ejected from the caravan park because of violence from the accused, " Justice Rothman said.
Ms Lucena's body was found in a courtyard adjoining the Ballina Salvation Army centre on January 3, 2023, where the pair had been planning to spend the night after moving their possessions there earlier in the day.
The court heard in the hours leading up to Ms Lucena's death, a man walking by the Salvation Army building called triple-0, telling the operator he heard a man "bashing the hell out of his woman".
It took police 55 minutes to attend the site 600 metres away from the Ballina Police Station, but officers did not sight anything suspicious.
Justice Rothman told the court it was unfortunate a "misunderstanding" by police about the location of the crime meant Ms Lucena was not discovered sooner.
"Unfortunately, the attendance of the police at 7:55pm is unhelpful because of a misunderstanding of the location of the bashing," he said.
CCTV evidence then showed Huber attending Ballina Police Station around 12:30am on January 4.
The court heard that Huber told police he had awoken from a nap and found Ms Lucena unresponsive.
Body worn camera evidence was played for the court that showed Huber leading police to the Salvation Army courtyard, where Ms Lucena's body was found and Huber was arrested.
Summarising expert medical evidence heard during the trial, Justice Rothman said Ms Lucena's death was not solely caused by the serious assault committed by Mr Huber.
"Each of the pathologists expressed the opinion that there were numerous blows that cannot be counted. The damage inflicted was serious," he said.
"Given her significant heart condition, the stress of being bashed… could contribute to a coronary arrhythmia, which combined with [heart disease] could contribute to death."
Justice Rothman adjourned the case, which will return to the Lismore Supreme Court in September for sentencing.
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