The couple accused of murdering mother-of-one Amber Haigh will face a judge-alone trial at Wagga Wagga in the middle of next year.
Ms Haigh has not been seen since 2002, despite extensive investigations by police over the years – including numerous public appeals and a $100,000 reward for information.
In 2011, a coronial inquest found she was dead, having died as a result of homicide or other misadventure in early June 2002.
Earlier this year, it was alleged that the 19-year-old was murdered by Robert Samuel Geeves and Anne Margaret Geeves while she had been living with them in their home in Kingsvale, a small farming settlement between the NSW South West Slopes towns of Harden and Young.
The married couple, both aged 61 at the time, were arrested at their Harden home on 4 May 2022 and appeared in the NSW Supreme Court over audio-visual link on Friday (4 August) where they both again pleaded not guilty to charges of murder.
The prosecutor told the court that most of the witnesses for the case were in the southern NSW region and so would benefit from holding a trial in Wagga Wagga.
Justice Helen Wilson noted the Geeves’ not guilty pleas and listed the matter for a judge-alone trial at the Wagga Wagga Supreme Court from 17 June 2024 with a six- to eight-week estimate.
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