11th hour twist in long-awaited Amber Haigh murder trial
The long-awaited trial of a couple accused of murdering teenager Amber Haigh has been delayed after one of the defendants was hospitalised with pneumonia, a court has been told.
Robert Samuel Geeves, 64, and Anne Margaret Geeves, 63, were due to face a judge-alone trial in the NSW Supreme Court having been charged with Ms Haigh’s murder.
Both have pleaded not guilty and the trial was set to begin on Monday – more than 22 years since Ms Haigh went missing.
However, in an 11th-hour development, Ms Geeves was on Monday morning not present at Wagga Wagga Court, where the trial is being held before Justice Julia Lonergan.
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Justice Lonergan told the court that just minutes before the trial was due to begin at 10am, her chambers received an email saying that Ms Geeves was ill and was in hospital at Silverwater Correctional Centre where she is being held on remand.
Amber Haigh disappeared in 2002. Credit: News Corp Australia
She said an email had been sent to her chambers on Friday afternoon but it did not arrive because it was incorrectly addressed.
“The first thing we heard about this problem is five to 10,” Justice Lonergan said.
Neither Ms Geeves’ barrister nor the Crown prosecutor were made aware of the problem, the court was told.
Ms Geeves had been battling bacterial pneumonia and had been diagnosed with respiratory syncytial virus, the court was told
Justice Lonergan said Ms Geeves was recently admitted to Westmead Hospital and was discharged last Thursday.
But she was still ill and in isolation at Silverwater Correctional Centre.
Robert Samuel Geeves was arrested and charged with murder. NSW Police Credit: News Corp Australia
Anne Margaret Geeves was arrested in 2022. NSW Police Credit: News Corp Australia
While a medical certificate delivered to Justice Lonergan’s chambers said Ms Geeves would not be fit for court until Friday, it is not known whether she will be well enough for the trial to resume this week.
The matter will return to court on Thursday, with a view to resuming the trial on Friday, depending on whether Ms Geeves is well enough.
The couple told police that they dropped Ms Haigh at Campbelltown train station on June 5, 2002.
She was reported missing two weeks later when she failed to return to her Kingsvale home.
Police arrested the couple at a home in Harden, in regional NSW, in May 2022.