Senior Trial Advocate: Manny Conditsis
A young woman disappeared in 2012 and the Crown case was the last person to have seen her alive was the accused – our client. It involved a tangled and complicated factual matrix, including that the woman was the accused’s lover for about the previous 18 months or so, but in the past 6 months prior to her disappearance, the accused was in a relationship with another woman with whom he wanted to be in relationship; the young woman was causing problems in the accused new relationship and he killed her to preserve his new relationship; that he lied to Police about numerous matters including that he was in a sexual relationship with the young woman and provided false alibis.
The accused was not charged until 2018 and he was refused bail, Manny Conditsis made a successful application for bail in the Supreme Court and his 4 months Judge Alone trial got underway in January 2022.
During the trial, the defence pointed to a past and abusive relationship of the young woman and that her then partner was a serious drug dealer, whom she had dobbed in to Police and following which he served time in prison; upon his release the former partner made numerous death threats to the young woman; that only a month or so before her disappearance, the former partner rekindled his former relationship with the young woman; and that there was a reasonable possibility that the former partner had killed the young woman.
After 4 months of evidence, the Judge retired to consider the verdict. Regrettably for all concerned, one day before the Judge was to announce the verdict, the accused – our client, took his own life and consequently, according to law, the verdict can never be published. A truly sad outcome for all concerned.
