Robert Mathew Marshall was the main chef at the Terminus Hotel in Marulan when he met Adam Cordingley’s partner. Photo: Terminus Hotel Marulan Facebook.
A man was allegedly stabbed to death on a rural property near Goulburn after going to speak to a hotel chef over the affair the chef had with his partner, a murder trial has heard.
Robert Mathew Marshall, a 42-year-old also known as Bob Marshall, has pleaded not guilty to murdering 38-year-old father-of-four Adam Cordingley of Marulan.
Mr Cordingley’s partner Kate had worked as a waitress at the Terminus Hotel in Marulan while Mr Marshall was the main chef, jurors heard when his NSW Supreme Court trial began on Monday (25 May).
Prosecutor Nerissa Keay, in her opening address, said Kate and Mr Marshall began an affair in July 2022 that lasted for about 12 months.
“They were both in relationships at the time, and they kept their affair secret,” she said.
She said Mr Cordingley eventually became suspicious about Kate and left a phone recording at their home when he left the property in July 2023.
He returned to find the phone had recorded Kate and Mr Marshall while they were together. He confronted her, told Mr Marshall’s wife, and the affair came to an end.
“After the affair came out, it had a degree of notoriety in a small town with one pub and involving people who worked at the same hotel,” Ms Keay said.
She said Mr Cordingley and Kate separated at first before moving back in together – although he had a lot of trouble moving on.
Meanwhile, it became common knowledge that Mr Marshall, who had since divorced his wife, had planned to move to Tumut to begin a new job and had his last shift at the hotel on 23 March 2024.
Ms Keay said Mr Marshall’s then ex-wife, who had also worked at the hotel, told him to go back to their property in Bungonia, which is a locality near Goulburn, to feed the dogs after he finished his last shift.
His ex-wife also told Mr Cordingley, who wanted to speak to Mr Marshall before he left the region, that he had gone to the property.
Jurors were expected to hear that Mr Marshall told police he arrived at his rural property on Oallen Ford Road and spotted someone’s car behind a building, so he took a hunting knife out of his car when he went to investigate, as he didn’t know who was in the vehicle.
He soon called Triple Zero and said, “My name’s Robert Marshall, I just had someone on my farm try and attack me. I just stabbed him”.
Ms Keay said jurors would hear Mr Marshall telling the operator Mr Cordingley had approached him and asked about the affair.
Mr Marshall told him to leave, but claimed Mr Cordingley approached him from behind, then grabbed and started punching him.
He also said he didn’t realise he’d stabbed Mr Cordingley until the latter said, “Did you stab me?”
“He was punching me … I asked him multiple times to leave, he just wouldn’t,” Mr Marshall told the operator.
“Holy f-k. My legs are shaking so bad.”
Ms Keay said police officers arrived to find Mr Cordingley in the driveway. He could not be revived and had three stab wounds, including a significant 14 to 18 cm deep cut to his hip.
Ms Keay said she expected the defence lawyers would not dispute that their client caused Mr Cordingley’s death by stabbing him, and expected the dispute would be whether Mr Marshall acted in self-defence.
She said this meant the issues for the jury were whether Mr Marshall was acting to defend himself and if his response was reasonable.
Mr Marshall’s barrister, David Dalton SC, confirmed he would argue his client acted in self-defence.
He claimed Mr Cordingley had become “increasingly obsessed” about what happened between Kate and Mr Marshall after he learned about the affair.
He alleged Mr Cordingley drove to the Bungonia property and parked his car behind a building, so it was in a place where he hoped Mr Marshall wouldn’t spot it when he arrived.
“He’s been ambushed at home and then physically attacked,” Mr Dalton said.
“It’s not the accused that goes to the deceased’s property to attack him.
“The accused doesn’t attack the deceased until the deceased attacked him.”
The trial is expected to run for two weeks before Justice Paul McGuire.
Original Article published by Albert McKnight on Region Canberra.
