Gerard Baden-Clay Guilty in Murder Trial That Stopped Australia

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By Jenni Ryall2014-07-15 02:01:35 UTC

SYDNEY — In a trial that has entranced Australia, Gerard Baden-Clay has been found guilty of killing his wife Allison Baden-Clay.

The jury of seven men and five women took over three days of deliberations to reach their guilty verdict after hearing 2,000 pages of evidence, and listening to 72 witnesses, including Baden-Clay.

The Baden-Clay case has been the focus of intense national interest after he was accused of killing his wife at their home in an affluent suburb of Brisbane, Queensland on April 19, 2012, and then dumping her body on the banks of a creek 14 kilometres (8.6 miles) away. Allison's body was found 10 days after she went missing.

The entire case was based almost entirely on circumstantial evidence — so much so that the jury requested direction on the use of circumstantial evidence to arrive at a verdict.

“It is not necessary that facts be proved by direct evidence. They may be proved by circumstantial evidence alone, or by a combination of direct and circumstantial," Justice John Byrne advised the jury. “So you should consider all the evidence, including circumstantial evidence."

"Importantly, to bring in a verdict of guilty based entirely, or substantially, on circumstantial evidence, guilt should not only be a rational inference, it must be the only rational inference that could be drawn from the circumstances."

Major interest in the trial stemmed from the couple's troubled private lives. The Baden-Clays, who had three young children and lived in the suburb of Brookfield, were not as happy as they appeared. Gerard had been involved in numerous affairs, and was under great financial stress.

The couple's former counsellor gave evidence at the trial, including Allison Baden Clay's long history of depression and Gerard's three-year affair with a colleague.

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Topics: allison baden-clay, baden-clay, murder, trial, US & World, World