Court hears Riverina couple allegedly killed teen to gain custody of child

During opening remarks of the trial on Friday, June 21, crown prosecutor Paul Kerr alleged Amber Haigh was murdered by Harden couple Robert Samuel Geeves and Anne Margaret Geeves so they could gain custody of her baby son.

Mr Kerr told the court that in January 2002, Ms Haigh - then aged 19 - had a son to Mr Geeves, who was more than 20 years her senior.

In June that year, Ms Haigh disappeared and has never been seen since.

Mr Kerr said Ms Haigh's life was "brought to an end" and asserted that the "Geeves intended to kill" her to get custody of the child.

"It was always the(ir) intention to get (the son) ... from Amber to get custody," Mr Kerr argued, but he said this meant the couple would have to "get rid" of Ms Haigh in some way.

"When it became apparent that achieving their desired outcome would be more difficult than first thought, the Geeves realised a more fundamental action was needed, so they killed her," Mr Kerr said.

Opening his case for Mrs Geeves, defence barrister Michael King told Justice Julia Lonergan that this was simply not the case.

"Anne Geeves didn't want Amber to be a surrogate mum for her," Mr King said.

Mr King said there were several other matters also in dispute, one of which was the fact that his client doesn't even know if Ms Haigh is dead or alive.

"She doesn't know, because she didn't kill Amber or stand by as Robert did," Mr King said.

He said there also "was no agreement to kill" her.

"Robert didn't kill her and (my client) ... didn't participate," he said.

Mr King further argued that Mrs Geeves has "no knowledge of her disappearance".

"The last time she saw (Amber) was June 5 (2002)," he said.

He said the defence will also dispute allegations the Geeves controlled Ms Haigh's finances.

Defence barrister for Robert Geeves Paul Coady said it was also important that several other key issues be addressed including the sorting out of rumour, innuendo, suspicion and community distaste of the nature of the relationship between Mr Geeves and Ms Haigh.

Mr Coady said the defence would also need to assess evidence of the motive, and would also be seeking to establish what extra evidence there is in the case since the NSW coroner returned an open finding in 2011.

Three witnesses also took to the stand on Friday, including Ms Haigh's mother Rosalind Wright who told the court her daughter was a "happy, bubbly" person who had a desire to help people.

Ms Wright told the court her daughter grew up in Sydney before moving to her aunt's place in the Kingsvale area.

She said the first she became aware of the sexual relationship with Mr Geeves was after her daughter's disappearance.

While admitting to speaking with her daughter over the phone about the upcoming pregnancy of her grandson, Ms Wright had thought the father was Robbie - Mr Geeve's son, only finding out the truth later on.

Ms Wright said the last time she saw her daughter was in November 2000, and the last time she ever spoke with her was in January 2002, shortly before she gave birth.

The trial began with an unexpected eleventh-hour delay on Monday after it was revealed five minutes before proceedings were meant to begin that Mrs Geeves was in fact isolating at Silverwater Correctional Complex after hospitalisation with pneumonia and RSV and would not be in court until later in the week at the earliest.

However, that was resolved by Friday, when both Mr and Mrs Geeves appeared in person in the dock - where they pleaded not guilty to a charge of murdering Ms Haigh between June 1 and June 6, 2002 at Kingsvale or another place in NSW.

On Friday, Mr Kerr outlined a timeline of events leading up to the disappearance of Ms Haigh.

He began with a reflection on the night that Mr and Mrs Geeves attended Young police station to report her disappearance on June 19, 2002.

He noted at the time the couple told a police officer it had been several weeks since they had seen or heard from Ms Haigh - who had been living with them at their rural property called Huntleigh in Kingsvale.

This initial report led to the investigation into the disappearance and alleged murder of Ms Haigh which has now lasted more than two decades.

Mr Kerr told the court Ms Haigh suffered an epileptic fit as a baby and was also diagnosed wiht an intellectual disability at a young age.

"[She had a] limited capacity for especially literacy... general cognitive function," he said.

The court heard Amber moved to Kingsvale to live with her great aunt at about the age of 14 years, at a property neighbouring Huntleigh - where Robert and Anne Geeves lived.

He told the court the Geeves couple had a son Robbie - two days older than Ms Haigh and the pair developed a friendship.

Mr Kerr also noted that Mrs Geeves "tragically had three miscarriages" over the years.

In 1998, Amber moved away to Mount Isa, before returning later the same year to live with her great aunt in the Kingsvale area, Mr Kerr said.

He noted Mr Geeves said Ms Haigh moved into the Huntleigh property about November 2000, while Robbie, the son, claimed it was about July that year.

Mr Kerr said, according to Robbie's evidence, Mr Geeves began a sexual relationship with Ms Haigh a few months after she moved in about October 2000.

However, Ms Haigh denied anything was going on despite questions from her mother Rosalind Wright, the crown prosecutor said.

Mr Kerr said she went to live with her grandmother in Sydney in 2001 but was back living in the Kingsvale area by May of that year.

He said Ms Haigh found out she was pregnant in early June 2001 and was referred to pregnancy-related support.

The court heard there were concerns that Ms Haigh suffered from epilepsy and might die during childbirth.

Mr Kerr said in August 2001 she attended a solicitor in Young and made out a last will and testament - saying that if she died, her child would be placed in the care of an aunt.

In October, 2001, Ms Haigh moved into her own flat in Young, but continued to live between there and Huntleigh.

In early January 2002, she gave birth to a son.

Mr Kerr told the court from the time she gave birth, there was evidence that several support workers raised concerns over Ms Haigh's relationship with Mr Geeves.

He said Mr Geeves himself told police Ms Haigh was scared he would take her son away from her.

The court heard the last independent sightings of Ms Haigh were on June 2, 2002 by other occupants of the units where she lived.

Mr Kerr said Mr Geeves was with her at the time, that she left in his company and hasn't been seen or heard of since.

Citing a police report on June 19, 2002, Mr Kerr reflected that Mr Geeves said on June 5 he and Mrs Geeves drove Ms Haigh to Campbelltown Railway Station with the intention to visit her father who was in hospital.

Mr Geeves told the police after watching Ms Haigh walk towards the railway they returned and went separate ways.

The pair reported the matter to police some two weeks later - a lengthy period which the prosecution took issue with.

"The 14-day delay in reporting Amber as missing meant many potential sources of evidence ... including the Campbelltown railway ... CCTV [footage] was no longer available," Mr Kerr said.

He said by the end of 2002, an investigation failed to produce sufficient evidence to charge anyone over the disappearance.

Mr Kerr also noted Mrs Geeves "made no attempt" to see if Ms Haigh made it safely to her destination after she returned to Huntleigh with the baby.

The trial continues.