An Illawarra man stabbed his partner a dozen times inside her Woonona home on New Year's Eve in 2019, then drank beer as she lay dead on the floor, a court has heard.
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Petero Baleinapuka, 58, stands accused of deliberately killing his girlfriend of three months, Angela O'Donnell, just after 10.30pm in a "ferocious" attack that allegedly left him with knife injuries to his right hand.
Baleinapuka denied the allegations on the opening day of his trial in the NSW Supreme Court, entering a plea of not guilty to a single count of murder.
In an opening address to the 12-person jury, Crown prosecutor David Scully said Baleinapuka and Ms O'Donnell had an "unremarkable" day on December 31, visiting one of Ms O'Donnell's relatives, a bottle shop and two licensed venues before catching an Uber back to the Campbell Street unit about 9.20pm.
A little over an hour later, a CCTV camera outside the home recorded Ms O'Donnell screaming "Petero, Petero, look at me, look at me, oh my God".
The Crown alleges the audio captures the moment Baleinapuka was stabbing Ms O'Donnell to death.
Mr Scully said experts would give evidence that at least two knives were used in the fatal attack, with stab wounds inflicted on Ms O'Donnell's face, neck, chest and abdomen.
The Crown will allege Baleinapuka then spent close to 90 minutes tending to his own injuries, changing his shoes and socks and drinking beer (blood stained bottles were later found at the scene) before taking Ms O'Donnell's Westpac Bank card and driving off in her silver BMW.
The court heard Baleinapuka drove a short distance down the road when two detectives in an unmarked police vehicle noticed him driving erratically and attempted to pull him over, believing he may have been a drunk driver.
Baleinapuka initially stopped the vehicle but then accelerated away and the offices gave chase.
He eventually crashed the car into a pedestrian railing and was apprehended by police.
Mr Scully said several other officers converged on the crash scene, at which time Baleinapuka allegedly divulged "killing his girlfriend".
Other officers were sent to Ms O'Donnell's home, where they discovered her body.
In a subsequent interview with detectives, Baleinapuka allegedly admitted stabbing Ms O'Donnell's "three times", however he also allegedly claimed he'd gone for a short walk when the pair got home that evening, and when he'd returned, he'd seen another male in the house.
He allegedly told police he'd followed the man outside but then lost sight of him.
Meanwhile, Baleinapuka's lawyer, Philip Young, SC, said it was "vital" that jurors "keep an open mind" until they'd heard all of the evidence.
"My expectation is you will hear evidence in the defence case that will indicate to you that [Baleinapuka] will deny Angela O'Donnell died at his hand," Mr Young said.
The trial continues.
*A previous version of this story incorrectly stated the name of the deceased as Angela McDonald.
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