A man accused of murdering his partner and leaving her body at the base of a cliff snapped before her death, a court has heard.
At Maroochydore Magistrates Court on Thursday, 73-year-old Keith Lees was ordered to stand trial for murder almost 30 years after the discovery of Meaghan Louise Rose’s body.
Lees faced a committal hearing after being extradited from NSW and was accused of being on the run from police, staging events suggesting his own death by suicide and living under an assumed name.
The body of Ms Rose – a 25-year-old disability and aged care nursing assistant – was found on July 18, 1997, at the base of Point Cartwright Cliffs at Buddina on Queensland’s Sunshine Coast.
Her death was initially considered a suicide before being reinvestigated by police.
Lees had allegedly been on the run from police for about 18 months after Queensland detectives travelled to Victoria in June 2023.
Lees’ vehicle was found abandoned the day after not turning up to an appointment to speak with the detectives, and he was later arrested in Dural in NSW in January last year.
Michelle Bourke, Lee’s acquaintance from his time in Victoria, on Thursday testified she had a conversation with him after learning about claims Ms Rose was murdered.
Ms Bourke asked Lees if he killed Ms Rose and he said he had “snapped”, the court heard.
“I took that as a ‘yes’,” Ms Bourke said.
She asked Lees more questions in late 2020 or early 2021 while looking at news stories and internet posts about Ms Rose’s death, the court was told.
“I asked if there was anything they could get you for. He said ‘yes’. I was shocked,” Ms Bourke said.
She testified that Lees told her he had gone to the bottom of the cliffs and picked up Ms Rose’s glasses after she died.
“He kept the frames,” Ms Bourke said.
Under cross-examination from Lees’ barrister William Prizeman, Ms Bourke agreed she did not receive an explicit confession during her alleged conversation with the accused.
She also agreed she sent offensive text messages to Lees after he told her not to talk to him again, including texts with a picture of Ms Rose and words “I will haunt you”.
The court heard on Wednesday that Lees staged events suggesting his own death by suicide and commenced living under an assumed name.
Lees was the beneficiary of Ms Rose’s $250,000 life insurance policy with a suicide exemption that expired three weeks before her death, crown prosecutor Sarah Dennis said.
After hearing from three witnesses on Thursday, Ms Dennis said there were some more who could not be called.
Defence barrister Simon Lewis said the remaining witnesses could give evidence at a separate pre-trial hearing but gave consent for the matter to be committed.
Magistrate Chris Callaghan said he had not received all the information he was expecting but ordered Lees be formally charged with murder and committed to stand trial.
Asked if he wished to enter a plea or say anything in response to the charge, Lees said he had not discussed the issue with his legal team.
After a short adjournment, Lees said: “No, Your Honour”.
Lees is due to face trial in Queensland Supreme Court at a date to be determined.
1800 RESPECT (1800 737 732), Lifeline 13 11 14, Men’s Referral Service 1300 766 491.
