A western Sydney man alleged to have murdered his ex-lover’s husband out of jealousy was tied to the cold case killing by a yellow rope and blood stains found in a car, a jury has been told.
Gofal Baziad, 54, allegedly fatally stabbed Jason Palmer and dumping his body in the Nepean River over two decades ago so he could be with Mr Palmer’s wife, who he had been romantically involved with.
Mr Baziad has pleaded not guilty to one count of murder, however the Crown prosecution has alleged he murdered Mr Palmer, 34, against the backdrop of a “love triangle” also involving Mr Palmer’s wife, Renny Palmer.
Ms Palmer is not accused of any wrongdoing and will give evidence next week, the NSW Supreme Court court was told on Friday.
Mr Baziad is alleged to have hit Mr Palmer over the head with a glass object before stabbing him in the back, hip and chest at his Barremma Rd unit at Lakemba some time late on February 6, 2004 or early the following morning.
Crown prosecutor Brett Hatfield SC told the court that three weeks after he went missing, Mr Palmer’s body was found by kayakers on the Nepean river at Menangle, wrapped in a blue-green sleeping bag, and weighed down with two large rocks tied with a thin, yellow rope.
He was last seen walking out of Ms Palmer’s home on February 6, 2024 before she reported him missing a few days later when she could not contact him, Mr Hatfield told the jury.
At the time of his death, Mr Palmer was living in a Lakemba unit and his wife lived nearby in Belfield, however they were still together, Mr Hatfield said.
Their relationship was described by the Crown prosecution as on-again, off-again – they broke up in 2002 but rekindled their marriage in 2003.
In the intervening period, Ms Palmer began a relationship with Mr Baziad, Mr Hatfield said.
The court has been told that in late 2003, Mr Palmer asked his wife to decide who she wanted to be with.
She chose Mr Palmer – a decision which Mr Baziad had “accepted”, Mr Hatfield SC has told the court.
Following Mr Palmer’s death, Mr Baziad left Australia on March 28, 2004 and did not return until 2009, the jury has been told.
Mr Hatfield told the court that when he Mr Baziad left for Singapore, he was in contact with police and told them he was setting up a business deal and was prepared to return to Australia to assist the investigation.
The court was told that after Mr Palmer’s killing, Ms Palmer began a relationship with Mr Baziad which lasted until 2018.
They lived together in Indonesia before they moved back to Australia, Mr Hatfield told the court.
Mr Hatfield told the jury that Mr Baziad had a tendency to be violent toward men with whom Ms Palmer was romantically involved.
He said it was alleged that he attacked a man, who Ms Palmer was dating at the time, outside a Gold Coast hardware store in 2018 after she and Mr Baziad had broken up.
“The Crown case alleges that evidence … supports that the accused had these two tendencies – firstly to be jealous about Renny Palmer and any male that she might be romantically involved with,” Mr Hatfield said.
“And the second tendency is to act in a particular way, namely to act violently, when he believed Renny Palmer is romantically involved with a person other than himself.”
Mr Hatfield told the court on Friday that on February 7, 2004, Ms Palmer allowed Mr Baziad to use her red Ford station wagon after telling her he was cleaning out his unit and needed to move his property.
The court was told that Mr Baziad came to her Belfield house and went to a garden shed, where sleeping bags and yellow rope from a previous camping trip were kept.
The court was told on Friday that pieces of yellow rope which were found in the shed was similar to the rope which was used to lasso two rocks to Mr Palmer’s body before it was thrown into the Nepean River.
Mr Hatfield on Friday told the jury that when police forensic investigators examined the station wagon, they found traces of blood on the rear passenger seat, the carpet and the boot.
A swab of blood taken from the boot was DNA matched to Mr Palmer, Mr Hatfield told the jury.
“The accused used Ms Palmer’s red car to transport (Mr Palmer’s) body from his apartment to dispose of it in the Nepean River,” Mr Hatfield told the court on Friday.
During a brief opening address to the jury on Friday, Mr Baziad’s barrister Madeleine Avenell SC argued there was not enough evidence to convict her client.
She said there were significant areas of dispute between the Crown prosecution and the defence about the evidence, as well as how it could be interpreted.
“My submission to you is going to be this – you won’t be able to be positively satisfied of the ultimate question that is put to you in this trial. Which is: has the prosecution proved beyond reasonable doubt that it was Mr Baziad who is the person responsible for Mr Palmer’s death?” she said.
“Ultimately, that is the thing you should have at the forefront of your mind.”
The trial continues.
