Jurors heard today that two days following the alleged murder of his friend, Mr. Palmer, Baziad attempted to soothe a woman he considered his “girlfriend” during a phone call.
Ms. Palmer, using a Bahasa interpreter, recounted, “He mentioned that perhaps Jason had gone to a nightclub, gotten drunk, and might have stayed over at a friend’s place.”
Mr. Palmer vanished suddenly on February 6, 2004. Earlier that evening, he and Baziad were seen engaging in conversation and smoking on the balcony of Ms. Palmer’s residence in Sydney’s southwest. They departed together later that night.
Baziad, 54, has entered a plea of not guilty to the charge of murdering his friend, allegedly driven by jealousy over a romantic rivalry in the ensuing hours.
Ms. Palmer also testified that Baziad was late in picking her up for work the day after the purported incident.
Ms Palmer testified Baziad had been late collecting her for work the day after the alleged murder.
She felt unwell on the drive and asked to turn back.
Baziad also said he was sick and the pair decided to go back to their respective homes, the jury heard.
That afternoon, he picked up Ms Palmer and took her to dance training at the Indonesian consulate.
She tried, unsuccessfully, to call and text her ex-husband.
Two days after he vanished, she went with Baziad to Mr Palmer’s rental apartment, the jury heard.
While there, she noticed the interior of his home was messy, as if no one had slept there.
Ms Palmer separated from her then ex-husband in 2002 after he had an affair, she earlier told the court.
However, she reconciled with him in December 2003 after being asked to choose between the two men.
“I still loved Jason,” she told the jury.
Despite her decision, Baziad still thought of himself as her boyfriend, she testified.
He compared her relationship with Mr Palmer to glass.
“Even if it was put together again then it would still be broken,” he reportedly said.
Ms Palmer testified that Baziad told her he had to clean and move out of his unit the day after her husband disappeared.
When asked why he had to move, he said there was a problem with the real estate, the jury heard.
Mr Palmer’s body was found concealed in a sleeping bag and weighed down with rocks in the Nepean River in Sydney’s west 23 days after he vanished.
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