A Swansea couple were prescribed anxiety medication after telling their doctors that their ex-son-in-law had been murdered in Campbell Town, a Supreme Court jury heard.
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The jury heard that Noelene June Jordan, 68, rang the Swansea practice before 9.29am on Monday, August 3, 2009 seeking an appointment.
Mrs Jordan and her husband Cedric Harper Jordan, 71, are accused of the murder of Shane Geoffrey Barker about 6.30 pm on Sunday, August 2, 2009 and have pleaded not guilty.
Swansea practice manager Amanda Burbury said Mrs Jordan made an appointment for August 4 for herself and Mr Jordan at 4.15 pm and 4.30 pm respectively.
The appointments were cancelled on August 4. New appointments were made for 3.30pm and 3.45pm, August 5 in time slots reserved by the practice's doctors for emergencies.
She said she wrote a note to Dr Andrew Grove apologising for taking the emergency slot. "These two were supposed to be seen on Tuesday...their ex-son in law in Campbell Town was murdered (?) and they spent an extra night with their granddaughter," her note said. It was what Mrs Jordan told her, she said.
She inserted the question mark into her notes because she thought "murdered' was a pretty big call, and she did not know if it was true.
"I had never been told that as a reason to cancel before," she said. Swansea doctor Andrew Grove said that on August 5, the couple told him of Mr Barker's murder.
He said he prescribed temazepam for Mr Jordan for insomnia but had never done so since.
Under cross-examination by defence counsel Fran McCracken Dr Grove said it would not be unusual for a general practitioner to prescribe temazepam for patients who had difficulty sleeping or had lost a family member.
Dr Camilla Byrne saw Mrs Jordan on August 11, where she presented as anxious following the murder of her ex-son-in-law.
"She explained she had fears for her daughter and her granddaughter's safety," she said. She prescribed diazepam [valium] to reduce the anxiety.
"Since that date, have you ever prescribed her diazepam again?" crown prosecutor Jack Shapiro asked.
"That was the only time," Dr Byrne said. She said it was very common to prescribe diazepam to patients with anxiety symptoms.
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The jury heard that Mr Jordan received medication for several complaints, including chronic back pain, while Mrs Jordan had knee problems.
Earlier in the trial, the jury heard that Mr and Mrs Jordan travelled on August 3 to Brambletye near Conara, where their daughter Rachel Barker [nee Jordan] lived.
A text message from Mrs Jordan to Rachel Jordan at 7.30pm on August 2 said, "All good down here".
However, in September, they told police that they visited KFC at Kings Meadows on a Sunday evening.
Also, yesterday, a forensic pathologist said Mr Barker may have lived for minutes after being shot in the back with four bullets in the driveway of his home.
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