An accused rapist left the state the morning after he allegedly broke into an elderly woman’s home and forced himself on her, a court has heard.
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The man, who was 18 at the time, previously told police he had been planning the trip to Melbourne for “about a week”, but didn’t purchase the ticket until he got to the airport.
The night before he boarded his plane in July 2015, a 76-year-old woman was raped in her Launceston home.
The woman was asleep when she woke to a man’s arm around her neck just before 2am.
The burglar told her to take her clothes off and raped her, before demanding $250 from her.
The man now on trial for the attack told police he had been drinking at his uncle’s that night and didn’t get home until about 4.30am, then boarded a flight later that morning.
While he was in Melbourne, he was arrested and extradited back to Tasmania.
A video interview between detectives and the man after his arrest in August 2015 was played to the jury during the third day of the trial before Justice Robert Pearce in the Launceston Supreme Court on Wednesday.
During that interview, the man was asked directly if he was the one who had burgled the woman’s home.
“I’m not ... no comment … no I’m not,” he said.
He denied ever being in the woman’s home or in her street.
“Is there any reason your DNA and fingerprints would be at her house,” detectives asked.
“My DNA and fingerprints?” he replied.
“My DNA was never there … I have no comment to say.”
Detectives continued to question him about DNA found on the elderly woman’s nightgown, which partially matched the accused.
“How can my DNA be there when I was never there,” the man said.
“If this is some sort of trick to get me to confess … this is ridiculous.”
Throughout the trial the jury also heard from the elderly victim, who told police she did not know who raped her, but she believed the person responsible was a teenager wanting drug money.
“My heart goes out to these kids when they get caught up with this sort of thing,” she said.
It has been agreed by both the Crown and defence that the woman was raped.
The argument has been whether the rapist was the man on trial. The Crown closed its case on Wednesday, and the accused chose not to give evidence.
Both Crown Prosecutor Peter Sherriff and defence lawyer Alan Hensley were expected to finish their closing statements on Wednesday afternoon with the jury likely to begin deliberations on Thursday.
Melissa Mobbs
A journalist with more than a decade of experience, Melissa Mobbs currently works as the Deputy Editor for The Examiner Newspaper in Launceston, and has a strong background in reporting on crime and the justice system. Send tips to Melissa.Mobbs@examiner.com.au or on Twitter via @melissamobbs.
A journalist with more than a decade of experience, Melissa Mobbs currently works as the Deputy Editor for The Examiner Newspaper in Launceston, and has a strong background in reporting on crime and the justice system. Send tips to Melissa.Mobbs@examiner.com.au or on Twitter via @melissamobbs.
