A WITNESS in the Sydney trial of a woman accused of murdering her lesbian lover's partner has described seeing a car and trailer laden with what looked like "rubbish" leaving the dead man's house at night.
Tanya Louise Lane, 28, from Newcastle, has pleaded not guilty to murdering Steven Quire, whose body was discovered in dense bushland near Freeman's Waterhole at Watagans State Forest on March 13, 2010.
The Crown has alleged Ms Lane murdered Mr Quire because she was in a "close, passionate and intimate relationship" with his partner, Renae Burns.
Lane wanted Mr Quire out of the way "permanently" so she could be with Ms Burns, crown prosecutor Christopher Maxwell QC said in his opening address.
Mr Quire's neighbour and friend, Peter Bailey, told the court on Tuesday that he last saw Mr Quire alive when he was mowing his lawn.
A few days later, Mr Bailey said he saw a Pajero four wheel drive reversing into the back yard of Mr Quire's house around 10pm.
"The curtains were drawn and all the blinds were down and normally they're up," Mr Bailey said.
He described seeing "two shadows" in the car, which had a trailer attached.
"One big girl and one small girl," he said, although under further questioning Mr Bailey said he couldn't be sure who they were.
"I (saw) the Pajero backing in and then leaving with all tarp and rubbish on it," he said.
When asked if he actually saw what was under the tarpaulin, Mr Bailey said: "No".
He said the incident took place about four weeks before Mr Quire's body was found and the house stayed empty after that night.
The court heard Mr Bailey was a regular cannabis user.
But he denied defence barrister Anne Healey's assertion that it "might affect him from time to time".
Another neighbour, Ursula Shalimov, told the court she witnessed "vicious" arguments between Mr Quire and Ms Burns.
"There was a lot of shouting, a lot of swearing and a lot of cursing at each other," Ms Shalimov said.
The trial continues before Justice Peter Hidden.
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