Justin Kent Dilosa, Carol Marie McHenry on trial for murder of Danielle Easey in 2019

A jury has heard a woman accused of murdering her friend was laying “breadcrumbs” for police because she was too scared to tell them what had actually happened. Read all the trial details.

A jury has heard a woman accused of murdering her friend was laying “breadcrumbs” for police because she was too scared to tell them what had actually happened.

Carol Marie Dawson McHenry, 33, and former partner Justin Kent Dilosa, 34, are on trial in the NSW Supreme Court after they both pleaded not guilty to the horrific murder of young mum Danielle Easey more than three years ago.

In the alternate, McHenry has entered a plea of guilty to a charge of accessory after the fact.

Carol McHenry charged with murder over the death of Danielle Easey. Credit: Facebook

Justin Dilosa when he was arrested in relation to the murder of Danielle Easey. NSW Police.

It’s alleged Ms Easey was stabbed to death in a Narrara home on August 17, 2019 before her body was wrapped in plastic and two weeks later dumped at Cockle Creek near Killingworth, west of Newcastle, where she was later found by a passing motorist.

During the parties opening addresses on Wednesday, Crown Prosecutor John Stanhope told the jury there are several witnesses, friends of the co-accused, who will give evidence that they both had made admissions to the killing.

The court heard that one witness would recall McHenry telling her “the problem had been dealt with” and that she had stabbed Ms Easey in the back.

The Crown said another witness will recount admissions from Dilosa that he was responsible.

 “She was no good, she was going to hurt my friends, I killed her,” the jury heard.

Danielle Easey’s body was found at Cockle Creek wrapped in plastic on August 31, 2019.

“Everything was fine until the crack ran out, I stabbed her in the head.”

The jury also heard a friend of Ms Easey heard Dilosa had been arguing with the young mum during a trip to Nowra on the south coast with McHenry so she could see her boyfriend in jail. This was the morning of the day of her death.

Mr Stanhope said that one witness heard Dilosa had tied her up and attacked her from behind and was doing it “to protect a lot of people”.

McHenry’s defence barrister Tony Evers said his client accepted that she did assist Dilosa after he had killed Ms Easey on August 17, but it was because she was scared and scared of what he would do that she didn’t go to the police.

“Mchenry had left her friend in the bedroom asleep, she fell asleep on the lounge and when she went to the hallway and saw into the bedroom, she saw Ms Easey being attacked by Dilosa,” Mr Evers told the jury.

“She told police she saw him attack her with a hammer and also a knife.”

Forensic investigators arrive at the Narara home where Ms Easey was allegedly killed. Picture: Fiona Killman

“She went back into lounge and pretended to be asleep, scared she would be next.”

The jury heard she pretended to be Ms Easey by sending messages via her profile after her death and defrauded Ms Easey’s mother of $50 on August 30, the day before Ms Easey’s body was found.

Also, that she threw her phone into the front yard of a home so police would find it, which they did.

“Throwing away the phone and money transferred to her account, she was laying breadcrumbs for police to tell them what happened,” Me Evers said.

He also said the 33-year-old was poor at choosing friends and questioned the credibility of some of the witnesses who he said were drug addicts and alcoholics.

Dilosa’s barrister Angus Webb urged the jury to focus on the evidence as it unfolded, and said the Crown would be unable to prove that his client attacked Ms Easey and also questioned the witnesses set to give evidence.

“With cross examination, I will challenge those witnesses,” he said.

The scene where Danielle Easey’s body was found wrapped in plastic. Pictures by Peter Lorimer

“Ultimately the important thing did they mean what the words conveyed?”

The jury heard by the Crown that when police had been alerted to a “long object” wrapped in plastic at the muddy creek on August 31, an officer who went to investigate started to cut through the duct tape and could smell something “seriously wrong”, before he saw part of a human torso.

Mr Stanhope also told the court an expert examination of the body of Ms Easey found she died by sharp and blunt force injuries and was wrapped in a doona, plastic and then sealed with duct tape.

The jury heard the young mum had extensive scalp lacerations and a number of fractures to the skull and stab wounds to the head, back and arm.

The Crown Prosecutor also told the jury that ice and amphetamine were in her system, and would hear evidence about the background of Ms Easey which was littered with drugs and couch surfing.

Mr Stanhope said further evidence in the trial is about the white cupboard in which Ms Easey was allegedly stuffed in before Dilosa used his van to transport her body from Narrara to his Cardiff property.

The jury heard several people who were at the property smelt something coming from the van before one witness would recount Dilosa cleaning and washing it out on September 7.

The trial continues.