Latest news with #RobertKarlHuber
Yahoo
07-07-2025
- Yahoo
Man's 'irrational blame' before killing partner
A man has been found guilty of killing his partner after a "really serious" assault behind a charity store where the homeless couple had been staying. Robert Karl Huber, 69, had been in a volatile relationship peppered with domestic violence against Lindy "Kimmy" Lucena, whom he killed on January 3, 2023. Huber was convicted of manslaughter in the NSW Supreme Court on Monday. But he was acquitted of the more serious charge of murder. The couple had been staying in the courtyard behind a Salvation Army store at Ballina in the NSW Northern Rivers region after becoming homeless following floods in 2022. Justice Stephen Rothman found Huber committed an "unlawful and dangerous act" when the 69-year-old bashed his partner and should have appreciated the risk of serious injury. But medical expert evidence tendered at trial acknowledged Ms Lucena did not die from the wounds she suffered during the assault. "Death was not the obvious and inevitable consequence of the assault by the accused of the deceased," the judge said. Huber had not intended to commit injuries so serious that they elevated the killing from manslaughter to murder, Justice Rothman found. While the motive was unknown, the judge pointed to his anxiety and depression about being homeless, his "irrational blame" of Ms Lucena for their situation and his overall feelings of disempowerment. Found with blocked or restricted arteries, Ms Lucena could have died of an abnormal heartbeat as a result of the brutal assault, the judge said. Small amounts of methadone found in her system could have contributed to her death. Justice Rothman accepted Huber had assaulted Ms Lucena about 7pm on January 3, after hearing evidence from passerby Christopher Daley at trial in June and the triple zero call he made at the time. Police took almost an hour to respond after having difficulties locating the scene and found nothing. At 7.20pm, Lesley Hudson-Moon was walking her dogs when she saw Ms Lucena lying in the courtyard through slats in the fence. She might have already been dead, Justice Rothman said. Huber had returned from the pub when he attacked her, moved her body and attempted CPR, before possibly falling asleep. CCTV footage shown to the court showed him visit Ballina police station after midnight, leading officers to the courtyard where Ms Lucena's body lay. Huber earlier pleaded guilty to a separate assault on December 26, 2022 when he gave Ms Lucena a black eye. He remains behind bars and will face a sentence hearing on September 12. 1800 RESPECT (1800 737 732) Lifeline 13 11 14 Men's Referral Service 1300 766 491
ABC News
07-07-2025
- ABC News
Robert Karl Huber found not guilty of murder of Lindy Lucena in Ballina
A Supreme Court has found a northern New South Wales man not guilty of murdering his partner, despite "serious injuries" inflicted before her death. 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.
ABC News
25-06-2025
- ABC News
Decision looming in murder trial of man charged with killing Lindy Lucena in Ballina
The NSW Supreme Court has been told a man accused of murdering his partner in Ballina in 2023 concocted multiple false stories when talking to police. Robert Karl Huber is accused of killing 64-year-old Lindy Lucena, also known as "Kimmy", whose body was found in a laneway near a Salvation Army Centre more than two-and-a-half years ago. Crown prosecutor Susan Oliver today told the court Ms Lucena may have been dead for at least three hours before Mr Huber walked into the Ballina Police Station. Mr Huber has pleaded not guilty to the murder and manslaughter of Ms Lucena, and is facing a judge-alone trial in Coffs Harbour. At the start of proceedings last Wednesday, Mr Huber pleaded guilty to assault occasioning actual bodily harm over an incident that occurred on Boxing Day 2022, eight days before Ms Lucena's death. The court heard Mr Huber and Ms Lucena met in 2017, and that their relationship had become volatile from around 2019. The pair became homeless following the Lismore floods in 2022 and had been staying in a Ballina caravan park. On Boxing Day 2022, Mr Huber was charged with assaulting Ms Lucena in their motor home. The court heard that following his release from custody on December 28, Mr Huber and Ms Lucena were kicked out of the caravan park. The two had unsuccessfully tried to stay at a local motor inn before relocating with their possessions to a small courtyard on the side of the Ballina Salvation Army on the afternoon of January 3. Ms Oliver told the court Mr Huber blamed Ms Lucena for their homelessness. She said their relationship was one characterised by Mr Huber lashing out at Ms Lucena physically when things got bad. The court had previously heard evidence that a passer-by called triple-0 at 7:03pm on January 3, 2023, telling the operator he had heard a man "bashing the hell out of his woman". Body-worn camera footage was also played for the court earlier in the trial, showing Mr Huber allegedly leading the police to Ms Lucena's body around 12:30am on January 4. In the footage, Mr Huber is seen gesturing to Ms Lucena's body and allegedly telling police, "She doesn't look too good, does she?" When asked in court what they were arguing about earlier in the evening, Mr Huber said, "I don't recall. It's usually something minor." The prosecution said the forensic pathologist who carried out the post-mortem on Ms Lucena determined that she suffered multiple blows and died of craniofacial injuries. The court heard some of her injuries were consistent with being grasped and held firmly, and that facial lacerations caused her to lose a lot of blood. Defence counsel Jason Watts is due to start his closing arguments later this afternoon. Mr Watts previously told the court he would argue it could not be proven beyond reasonable doubt that any assault by the accused caused Ms Lucena's death.
