Fighting, jalousing common occurrence between man and his wife before he killed her, court hears

A man charged with his wife’s murder has faced the seventh day of his trial.

• Man faces first day of trial charged with murder of his wife
• Man on trial for killing wife ‘cried’ while performing CPR on her, court hears

JEALOUSY and fighting was common between a Tennant Creek man and his wife throughout their relationship before he killed her, a court has heard.

Baden Flash, who was 34 at the time of the incident, pleaded not guilty in Alice Springs Supreme Court last Wednesday to murder after he killed his wife Kwementyaye Foster more than three years ago, with defence lawyer Tania Collins said she would be seeking conviction for the lesser charge of manslaughter.

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The court heard Flash slammed a brick against the side of the victim’s head multiple times in the bedroom of their Tennant Creek home in January 2017.

Crown prosecutor Stephen Robson told the jury it was a “prolonged and severe bashing of his partner of many years” who sustained injuries of varying kinds and degrees in more than 30 locations on her body, including broken ribs and a brain haemorrhage.

The crown alleges Mr Flash intended to kill or at least cause serious harm to his wife.

On Tuesday, the court heard that the deceased’s ­sister’s former partner Roderick Alfie, who lived in the house with the couple at the time of the incident, say the couple would fight at times over “jealousy issues”.

Mr Alfie said he had seen Flash hit Kwementyaye Foster throughout their relationship, including times where he used objects like a bar.

“I told him to go away,” Mr Alfie said he told Flash on the occasions he tried to stop him hitting his wife.

The court heard Mr Alfie told police during interviews he heard the couple arguing about 5am the day she died.

Later in the day, Mr Alfie’s partner told him her sister “was really sad inside, she was hurt all over her body”.

Mr Alfie said in the late morning Flash emerged from the bedroom he and his wife were in to get some water, when he noticed he had blood stains on the front of his shorts.

The court has heard throughout the trial that Flash was drunk, and recorded a breath analysis of 0.082 after his ­arrest. The trial continues.

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