Adrian Bayley has a short fuse, say colleagues

ACCUSED killer Adrian Bayley joined his colleagues in lamenting Jill Meagher's disappearance, court documents say.

Adrian Ernest Bayley

ADRIAN Bayley joined his colleagues in lamenting Jill Meagher's disappearance, court documents say.

On the Monday after Jill vanished, he told colleagues his nose was cut and bruised when a Lebanese gang "jumped" him, they said.

Rangedale Drainage Services colleague Shaun Smith said Bayley, 41, was temperamental and argumentative. "He had a very short fuse and didn't like to be told he was wrong," his statement read.

Bayley was at work unusually early on the Monday and said he was going home because he had been sick all weekend.

Mr Smith said on the Tuesday he commented to Bayley, "How sad is it about this Jill?" and Bayley replied: "I know. It's sad, isn't it? I wonder what happened?"

Mr Smith said Bayley often talked about women. "He would say he couldn't understand how men could hurt women or be abusive."

But constant phone fights with his partner would change his personality. "He would be angry and aggressive towards everyone," he said.

Mr Smith, who had been out with Bayley and his girlfriend on the Friday night, said on the Saturday he discovered missed calls from Bayley between 12.50 and 1.20am --- about the time Ms Meagher was attacked -- and between 5 and 6am, when police say Bayley buried her.

Operations manager Jon Reed said on the Thursday Bayley approached him and said he'd had a call and had to leave. Mr Reed asked whether it had anything to do with Friday night, because of his nose, and Bayley said: "Probably."