A woman living under the same roof as her two-timing lover denies stabbing him in the chest and killing him.
Linda Lee Falzon, 44, is accused of murdering James McColgan, 61, inside his home at Sunbury, on the north-west fringe of Melbourne, where the pair lived in a ‘chaotic’ drug den.
On Tuesday, a Supreme Court of Victoria jury sitting in Melbourne heard Falzon denied killing Mr McColgan, who was found with a knife sticking out of his chest by his other lover Samantha Attard.
In opening the Crown case, prosecutor Patrick Bourke SC told the jury it should accept Falzon was not guilty of murder by way of mental impairment.
On November 19, 2022 Mr McColgan had been in the process of painting the Sunbury house his mother was evicting him from when he died.
The jury heard his mother had rented the property to him under the condition he stayed off drugs and lived there alone, but he could not adhere to those conditions.
Mr Bourke told the jury a man named Nathan Glasgow had been inside the home when he got into an unusual conversation with Falzon, Ms Attard later told police.
‘He handed her a screwdriver and said to her “you know what to do”,’ Mr Bourke said.
Linda Lee Falzon denies killing her lover
‘Ms Falzon started hitting herself in the head with the screwdriver and the evidence we expect from Ms Attard is that Mr Glasgow then said to her “not to yourself. You know what to do”. That’s the day before he’s killed.’
Police believe Mr McColgan was killed about 9am on November 20 and his body was found at the front door of the property.
Ms Attard had remembered the distinct green-handled and green-bladed knife stuck in his chest from Mr McColgan’s kitchen the day before.
Ms Attard had moved into the home some five months earlier and soon became romantically involved with Falzon’s lover.
The jury heard she and Mr McColgan had painted into the early hours of November 20 while Falzon slept before Ms Attard had to leave about 5.30am to pick up a friend whose car had run out of fuel.
‘She says in her evidence, I expect, that she reminded Mr McColgan to lock the door behind her as she leaves and he did so,’ Mr Bourke said.
The jury heard Ms Attard phoned Mr McColgan about 8.30am, but he did not answer.
She discovered Mr McColgan’s body on her return home and immediately called triple-0 to report the incident.
Linda Lee Falzon, 44, is accused of killing James McColgan
Falzon was later discovered by police in the backyard of the filthy property after an initial search found no-one else inside.
The jury heard it was not until after midday when Falzon was spotted by a sergeant ‘hiding’ behind a shopping trolley.
Mr Bourke said Falzon told police she had been ‘praying’ and claimed not to not know the man inside with the knife protruding from his chest.
The jury heard the prosecution case against Falzon was ‘circumstantial’, with no person witnessing the actual death of Mr McColgan.
‘That doesn’t mean it’s a weak case. Circumstantial cases can be very strong and we say this one is,’ Mr Bourke said.
Mr Bourke described Falzon’s relationship with her lover as ‘volatile’ leading up to the incident.
‘Arguing, sometimes physical, very often verbal, in both directions,’ he said.
In defence, top Melbourne barrister Adam Chernok said that by the end of the trial the jury would be convinced Falzon was not guilty of the murder.
The Sunbury home where James McColgan met his gruesome fate
‘Linda Falzon was in a relationship with the deceased James McColgan around the time of his death and that indeed at times that could be a somewhat volatile relationship,’ said Mr Chernok.
He also said it was agreed Falzon had lived with Mr McColgan and that he died from a knife wound to his chest.
But he told the jury it was not Falzon who stabbed Mr McColgan.
‘She denies having killed the deceased,’ Mr Chernok said.
The trial continues.
