Gerard Baden-Clay wrestled with guilt about affair, lawyer tells murder trial

http://www.theguardian.com/world/2014/jun/26/gerard-baden-clay-wrestled-with-guilt

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Murder accused Gerard Baden-Clay wrestled with guilt about his affair with an employee, who made him feel appreciated, his lawyer says.

Defence barrister Michael Byrne QC says the couple's marriage became strained early on when Allison fell into deep depression after taking anti-malaria tablets while on holiday.

When their three children were born in 2001, 2003 and 2006, Baden-Clay took on extra home duties to compensate for his wife's listlessness.

As his real estate business boomed his love life was non-existent and he formed a physical relationship with staff member Toni McHugh, the court was told.

"Gerard doesn't shrink from this, he won't say he was ever proud of it," Byrne said in his opening address.

"After the relationship and the problems that had been present with Allison, he found himself being flattered, being appreciated and acknowledged."

Byrne said his client "enjoyed the physical relationship" with McHugh but never wanted to leave his wife and children.

"There was a constant wrestle with his conscience," he said.

"He enjoyed the excitement and the thrill of the encounters he had with Toni but he was, in his own words, dedicated to Allison and the children."

When Allison Baden-Clay discovered the affair in late 2011 the married couple made a commitment to stay together, the barrister said.

In 2012 Baden-Clay's business was just starting to recover from devastating floods a year earlier and the couple were "working really hard on the relationship".

Byrne said Baden-Clay would enter the witness box and affirm that he did not kill his wife.

The 43-year-old has pleaded not guilty to murdering his wife in April 2012.

Her body was found on a creek bank in Anstead in Brisbane's west on 30 April 2012, 10 days after her husband reported her missing from their Brookfield home.

The trial continues.