Craig Henry Rumsby: Murder trial of Michelle Bright hears accused ‘pestered’ girl he’d known since she was an infant
A court has heard a man accused of the murder of Michelle Bright was ‘pestering’ her, as it was revealed she had known him since she was an infant. Warning: Graphic.
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The mother of a teen allegedly murdered in the state’s central west has reveal their family would often buy “fresh cow’s milk” from the family of a man accused of her daughter’s demise.
Lorraine Bright fought back tears as she took to the stand in the Supreme Court trial of 56-year-old Craig Rumsby in Dubbo on Monday — facing the man charged with her daughter’s murder and the alleged rape of another teen.
Allegations the central west man denies and has pleaded not guilty to.
Michelle’s partially naked body was found covered by long grass on Barneys Reef Rd, just 400m away from her home, two days after she went missing following a 15th birthday party.
The jury heard the accused had met Michelle Bright at the age of two, after the family moved to Cook’s Gap from Port Macquarie following a job offer for Michelle’s father Gregory in the mines.
The court heard it was following that move to the tight-knit central west community that the Bright family were introduced to the Rumsby’s wheom they would often collect fresh cow’s milk from.
Paying tribute to their late daughter while taking the stand, each member of the Bright family were dressed in purple with a hint of yellow.
Lorraine and Greg Bright fought to hold back their emotion when present on the stand – working to recall events from two decades previous, while Michelle’s brother Les responding to questions quickly and with confidence.
Throughout evidence by the Bright family, Rumsby, dressed in a dark suit, kept his head down and scribbled notes on a pad while avoiding eye-contact with witnesses taking the stand.
Michelle’s father Gregory was also quizzed after an allegations made to the court on Monday that he recalled a conversation between Michelle and her mother suggesting Craig Rumsby had been “pestering her”.
A claim not previously mentioned in Mr Bright’s original statement to investigators.
Meanwhile, Michelle’s older brother, Phil Bright, told the court he was in the same year group as Craig Rumsby’s sister – as the crown asked the family to identify connections between the family of the accused and the victim.
Ms Bright told the court the night her daughter went missing, Michelle was wearing a pair of rusty maroon jeans, black Doc Martin boots with yellow stitching a Billabong jacket.
Describing the location where her daughter’s body was later found, Michelle’s mother said Barneys Reef Rd was too “scary” to walk alone.
“It’s so open - all the trees - it was a nightmare,” Ms Bright told the court.
Ms Bright said she and her daughter only walked home once late at night after a shift at Gulgong RSL.
“(We) ran most of the way from Gulgong to home,” Ms Bright told the court.
Meanwhile, Michelle’s brother Lesley told the court he would walk home regularly, however described the road as “unsettling”.
The jury heard Michelle’s brother was at the Prince of Wales Hotel with a few of his mates and decided to sleep in his car at the back of the pub – just 100 metres from the Commercial Hotel, where Michelle was dropped off by her friend Ben Howard in the early hours of the morning on February 27.
The teen was officially reported as a missing person the following day.
Michelle’s best friend also took to the stand on Monday, telling the court she planned to meet Michelle at the 15th birthday party of a friend, but finished her babysitting job later than expected - Michelle was not there when Ms Ryan arrived.
The trial continues before Acting Justice Robert Allan Hulme.
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