Judgement day set for Robert Dickie's accused killer Kylie So

Kylie So, a 50-year-old former sex worker, is accused of murdering retired farmer Robert Dickie in 2016 in a romance gone wrong. Mr Dickie was last seen by someone other than the accused on June 14, 2016, but his body has never been found.

So was arrested at her home in Auckland, New Zealand in June 2020 before being extradited to Australia where she was charged with Mr Dickie's murder. She maintains her innocence.

After a marathon eight-week trial in Dubbo, and a one week delay from the initial judgementday, presiding judge Justice Mark Ierace is set to return his verdict at the Supreme Court in Sydney on Friday, November 10.

The decision was made to hand down the judgement in Sydney as Mr Dickie does not have family in the Dubbo area and so So could be moved to a womens' prison.

The crown alleges So killed Mr Dickie during an altercation after he tried to kick her out of his Wattle Road home.

The court heard So first met Mr Dickie when she was doing sex work in Dubbo in 2011 and the pair started contacting each other again in 2016. Text records show Mr Dickie professed his love to So and asked her to come live with him.

Crown prosecutor Liam Shaw said the profession of love was a "ruse" and argued Mr Dickie had no intention for So to stay with him long term. This led to the fight that resulted in So killing Mr Dickie, he said.

Mr Shaw said evidence of a "significant blood shed event" in the bedroom pointed to a fight having taken place. Blood staining was found on the underlay of the carpet, on the bed frame and mattress and on three walls in the bedroom.

"It is a circumstantial case, one has to look at all of the factors," Mr Shaw concluded.

"The Crown submits the court would be satisfied beyond reasonable doubt that the accused murdered Robert Dickie."

However, no blood was found anywhere else in the house, except for a drop on the screen of an iPad. No traces of Dickie's body have been found either, despite extensive searches on Mr Dickie's property and neighbouring properties.

Defence counsel Ian Nash said the Crown's case could not prove So's guilt beyond reasonable doubt nor rule out her version of events. So maintains that Mr Dickie told her he was going to a party on the night he disappeared and didn't return.

Mr Nash said too many alternative theories as to Dickie's disappearance remain unexplored and the involvement of others "can't be ruled out".

"The crown case is a weak circumstantial case, it relies almost entirely on the blood staining," he said.

"The fact that she was there at the time of the disappearance, yes that gives her the opportunity ... but coincidences happen. Your honour couldn't in any event dismiss the reasonable possibility of So telling the truth or the involvement of others."

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