A post-it with notes written about love was found in the study of a Melbourne nurse who was killed in her home more than 30 years ago.
Ina-Doris Warrick was stabbed to death at her Ringwood North home in March 1986.
Her former colleague Colin Earl Graham has pleaded not guilty at the trial to the murder of the 25-year-old woman and is facing a trial in Victoria’s Supreme Court.
Mr Graham went out for dinner with Ms Warrick on March 21 and it’s alleged he stabbed her twice in the back after he dropped her home.
The young widow was scheduled to work a shift at the Warringal Hospital at Heidelberg on the night she was killed but never showed up. Her body wasn’t discovered for several days.
The 66-year-old denied he had anything to do with her death, but prosecutors said witnesses came forward who said the former hospital orderly told them about his alleged involvement.
But Mr Graham denies the conversations ever happened and his lawyer said the witnesses spoke up after the case aired on a TV show called Million Dollar Cold Case in 2015.
Harrowing crime scene footage was aired to the jury showing how the young nurse was found dead in her bed at her Oban Rd home at the second day of the hearing on Tuesday.
Close ups of blood above the bedhead and on the ceiling were aired in court as well as images of the slain nurse on the bed.
A note found in the study was also shown to members of the jury.
“My idea of love is somebody you can trust, someone who stand by you in your hour of need, somebody to tell you right from wrong. Who will cherish and honour you. Be loyal and help when you need help,” it read.
Defence barrister Malcolm Thomas asked former Victoria Police crime scene investigator Lionel Drake if there was ever any effort made to get a handwriting sample for Ms Warrick.
“I don’t know,” the former officer told the court.
The former policeman was also quizzed about pills found in the home, but wasn’t able to say if they were sleeping pills.
A forensic pathologist also explained to the jury the young widow was stabbed twice in the back, with the fatal wound piercing her heart and lung.
She was also in the early stages of decomposition when the autopsy was conducted and her body did not appear to have been moved after her death, the pathologist said.
It comes after details of a letter allegedly written by Ms Warrick’s lover to her neighbours was read out.
Prosecutor Robyn Harper told the court on Monday the widow’s married lover – Dr Greg Stewart – discovered her body on March 23 but didn’t report it to police.
The anaesthetist was questioned on March 26, but did not tell anyone about his gruesome discovery until two days after he initially spoke with police, Ms Harper said.
Instead, next-door neighbour Elaine Tresise went to check on the nurse and uncovered her body on March 25. She and her husband Maxwell reported it to police.
In a statement from Maxwell Tresise made in 2018, he said about six to 12 months after the nurse’s death, the couple allegedly received a letter from the doctor that his wife kept for 20 years.
The letter was carefully worded and was personal and sincere, Mr Tresise said in the statement aired in court.
“(The letter) was written with empathy and sincere apologies; apologised for the trauma caused to Sally for leaving her to discover Ina-Doris’s body; expressed how out of character it was for him to find her body and not report her death,” he said.
The man said his wife became “disturbed” by the letter’s presence and it caused her distress.
“We discussed options of what to do with the letter and both agreed to burn the letter,” he said.
Dr Stewart has not been charged with any wrongdoing.
The trial continues.
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