Gulgong alleged murderer of teen Michelle Bright 'volunteered' details

Suffocation, a broken bra and being dragged by the hand. When Craig Rumsby revealed details of Michelle Bright's death to undercover police he was "unburdening" himself after 21 long years, a court has heard.

"He knows what happened because he did it," prosecutor Lee Carr SC said.

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Rumsby, 60, is on trial for violent crimes against two Gulgong teenagers. He is accused of murdering Michelle Bright in 1999 and attempting to choke an 18-year-old intending to sexually assault her in 1998. He has pleaded not guilty to both charges.

The Supreme Court trial in Dubbo heard Rumsby made certain admissions about the alleged crimes to undercover police during an investigation lasting many months. The defence claims the confession was a lie.

Michelle Bright has been identified with the permission of her family.

In his closing address, Mr Carr said Rumsby's confession to both alleged crimes was reliable and true because he progressively "volunteered" details.

Mr Carr spoke of a moment when Rumsby told undercover police "it's hard". But when they asked Rumsby to "let go", the prosecutor said Rumsby's confession "flowed" from there.

"This is a person who is remembering slowly and coming clean about something after [about] 20 years. It's not an easy thing to do," Mr Carr told the Supreme Court in Dubbo.

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Michelle Bright, 17, disappeared after she left a friend's 15th birthday party in the early hours of February 27. Her body was found three days later hidden in long grass along Barneys Reef Road in Gulgong.

Rumsby initially told undercover police he knew nothing, but eventually revealed he "knocked out" Ms Bright while she was walking and covered her mouth until she stopped breathing, the prosecution says.

The court previously heard a forensic pathologist say the "most likely mechanism of death" was suffocation or asphyxiation. Evidence of both, if they happened, would not be found given the body's level of decomposition.

The court also heard Rumsby say he "dragged" Ms Bright's body by her hand and possibly ripped her bra when he pulled it down. These statements would be consistent with the evidence.

Rumsby then allegedly correctly described the type of underwear Ms Bright was wearing, a detail that was not publicly known.

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It is alleged Rumsby ran into the second teenager on Gulgong's Herbert Street about 3am on New Year's Day. He is accused of striking her and covering her mouth to stop her screams before trying to sexually assault her.

"If you don't stop screaming ... I will kill you," Rumsby allegedly said. The court was told the victim's partner heard her screaming and scared the accused off with a concrete manhole cover.

The alleged attack was never made public. Mr Carr said the victim was "embarrassed" and did not want to face court.

Yet the court heard Rumsby revealed his intentions with the victim. It's alleged he tackled her because he wanted to "have a crack" but ran away when the "c--t's come out yelling".

Mr Carr said Rumsby was guilty in both cases because he allegedly acted on his sexual interest in females in their late teens through "opportunistic sexual violence".

The court heard similarities between both alleged crimes: the sexual motivation, the victims' ages, physically overpowering them, not letting them breathe, threats to kill, time of the alleged crimes, and the darkness of the locations which were a few 100 metres apart.

"You find this tendency exists in the case of [the unnamed victim] ... use it in your deliberations regarding Michelle Bright and vice versa," Mr Carr told the jury.

Rumsby's defence team will give their closing remarks at the Supreme Court in Dubbo on Wednesday, June 14.

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