Julia DeLuney is on trial for the murder of her 79-year-old mother. Photo: RNZ / Mark Papalii
The defence has chosen not to call any witnesses, nor will Julia DeLuney give evidence, in the trial in which she is accused of murdering her 79-year-old mother, Helen Gregory.
DeLuney denies the charge and faces a jury in the High Court in Wellington, with the trial nearing the end of its fourth week.
Cross-examination of the Crown's final witness, detective senior sergeant Tim Leitch who led the police investigation, wrapped up earlier on Thursday afternoon.
Julia DeLuney (L) and Helen Gregory on 9 January, 2024, in a photo retrieved from DeLuney's phone by police. Photo: SUPPLIED
Defence lawyer Quentin Duff then told Justice Peter Churchman that the defence would not call any witnesses, nor would DeLuney give evidence herself.
The court has also not heard from DeLuney's husband, Antonio, who was there that night. He is not charged with any crime relating to these events.
It is the Crown's case that DeLuney, who traded cryptocurrency, was financially struggling, and on 24 January when she visited her mother to book ballet tickets, she fatally attacked her before staging it to look like a fall from the attic.
But the defence says there was a 90-minute window of opportunity in which DeLuney left her mother to fetch help after the elderly woman fell from the attic.
On Thursday, lead Crown prosecutor Stephanie Bishop began closing the Crown's case, urging the jury to put aside feelings of sorrow or sympathy for the people involved, or their family.
The defence will take its turn to address the jury and close its own case after the Crown.
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