Accused murderer admits lying to police
A labourer accused of murdering a woman in her waterfront Sydney mansion has admitted to lying to police when he claimed three masked intruders had held a gun to her head.
"It was just a lie to get out of jail," Tony Halloun told his Supreme Court trial on Tuesday.
"I would do whatever it takes to be with my family again."
Halloun has pleaded not guilty to murdering 65-year-old Shahnaz Qidwai in her Henley home on Sydney's north shore on June 15, 2012.
It is alleged the labourer, who had been hired to concrete the driveway at the Qidwai's waterfront property was financially stressed and had also robbed her of more than $3000.
Mrs Qidwai's body was later discovered by her daughter - her face and mouth covered in blood and bruises.
Giving evidence at his trial for the first time, Halloun conceded he had given three differing accounts of what happened that fatal day.
He said he was "scared" and in "shock" when he initially denied going inside the Qidwai's home during the first interview that night.
But the following morning, Halloun explained he called police to tell them he had left "a few things out", including that he had been in the house.
The third version, he said, was cooked up after his arrest while he awaited trial at Goulburn prison.
The court has previously heard Halloun told police in November 2013 that he was inside with Mrs Qidwai when three armed intruders burst in and grabbed her.
The last he saw she had tears streaming down her face and a gun to her head, Halloun claimed.
The crown says Halloun concocted this tale to explain DNA and crime scene evidence.
But Halloun - a Lebanese Christian - said he was simply desperate to get out of prison.
The Lebanese Muslim prison population had threatened his family and physically and verbally abused him, he said.
"They would spit and throw cans of coke full of urine at me ... They would say 'You're never going to see your wife ... You're going to die in jail'."
Halloun told the jury he was inside Mrs Qidwai's house on the day of the death.
The pair had shared a cup of tea and she had comforted him as he was feeling unwell, he said.
"She's like a mum. She's a nice lady. She's a beautiful lady."
Halloun denied killing or robbing her.
The trial continues.
