Louise Bell murder: Prosecution case against accused Dieter Pfennig closes

UPDATED: Convicted killer Dieter Pfennig has elected to remain silent over the 30-year-old Louise Bell cold-case murder mystery, shifting his long-running trial into its final phase.

• Pfennig pleads not guilty to abducting and murdering Louise Bell
• Louise Bell murder accused suffers heart attack in prison
• Court hears lab finds ‘billion to one’ DNA match in Louise Bell murder case

CONVICTED killer Dieter Pfennig has elected to remain silent over the Louise Bell cold-case murder, shifting his long-running trial into its final phase.

In the Supreme Court on Monday morning, prosecutors closed the case they claim proves Pfennig is responsible for one of the most enduring mysteries in South Australian history.

After speaking to Pfennig in the cells, defence barrister Grant Algie, QC, said his client would not be taking the stand to give evidence in his own defence.

Pfennig’s decision means that, after nine months of witness testimony and highly complex scientific evidence, the end of the trial — and decades of speculation — is in sight.

It is expected prosecution and defence counsel will give their closing addresses in the first week of July.

Acting Justice Michael David, meanwhile, indicated his willingness to set a tentative date for the handing down of his verdict.

Pfennig, 67, has pleaded not guilty to abducting Louise, 10, from her Hackham West home on January 4, 1983, and murdering her at some time before March 1 that year.

He is currently serving a life sentence for the 1989 murder of Michael Black, 10.

Neither child’s body has ever been recovered, and witnesses claim Pfennig has said they are buried together.

Louise Bell, left, and Michael Black, right.

Pfennig’s trial, in the absence of a jury, started on September 20 last year and was delayed in March when he suffered a heart attack in his Yatala Labour Prison cell.

He subsequently recovered and the trial resumed.

One of the central planks in the prosecution case is a cutting-edge DNA test, carried out on Louise’s torn and discarded pyjama top in the Netherlands.

Prosecutors claim a sample taken from the top is a one in one billion match to Pfennig — a statistic defence counsel have spent months seeking to refute.

Louise Bell’s pyjama top. Source: Supreme Court registry.

At one stage, they claimed the challenge was so central to Pfennig’s case that they needed $250,000 in legal aid funding and a lengthy adjournment to prepare it.

If successful, Pfennig’s defence could have set a precedent affecting the use of the DNA test in other jurisdictions around the world.

On Monday, however, the court heard defence counsel had abandoned that challenge

Mr Algie told the court he would call just one witness — a scientific expert — to give evidence on Friday afternoon.

He and prosecutor Sandi McDonald, SC, said they would be ready to make their closing addresses by Monday, July 4.

Acting Justice David said he would accept written submissions ahead of that date should the parties wish to lodge them.

“I’m (also) going to set a date for the day of my verdict,” he said.

“I don’t like leaving it in limbo but, if counsel doesn’t mind, I don’t want to be held to that date.

“I can give you a date and promise it will be around that time.”

He adjourned the trial until Friday.

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