A friend of the victim and a former girlfriend of the accused have given testimony at the Tom Barrett murder trial in Sydney.
Chris Andrews told the court he was friends with Brett MacKinnon and knew her well.
He was also familiar with Tom Barrett and did drugs with him.
Andrews testified that in a conversation outside a coffee shop in Glace Bay in 2006, Barrett told Andrews if MacKinnon was found, it wouldn’t be too far from the coffee shop.
In 2008, a month after MacKinnon’s remains were found, Andrews told the court Barrett admitted to having her body wrapped up in a carpet inside his house.
Andrews testified that Barrett told him he caught MacKinnon taking drugs, that Barrett and MacKinnon got into a fight, Barrett beat her, hit her with a wine bottle and thought he broke her neck.
Andrews told the court that Barrett knew he had killed her because her pupils became enlarged and she was lifeless.
Andrews admitted being addicted to drugs and having a lengthy criminal record.
Defence lawyer Brian Bailey noted previous statements to police didn’t match his testimony on Thursday.
Outside the courtroom, Andrews and MacKinnon’s mother had a brief encounter where they seemed to comfort one another.
Barrett’s former girlfriend also took the stand on Thursday.
Krysta Newell told the court she started dating Barrett when she was 16, that’s also when she started doing cocaine.
She testified Barrett had a large bruise on his shoulder and that he later told her it was from a rope used to a drag a dead body around his house.
But Newell said he wouldn’t say whose body it was.
Newell was pregnant at the time her relationship ended with Barrett.
Barrett is also charged with second degree murder in the death of Laura Jessome.
Jessome’s mother was in court on Thursday for the first time, along with a growing crowd for the proceedings.
The trial will take Friday off.
It will resume on Monday, when more Crown witnesses are expected.
With files from CTV Atlantic’s Kyle Moore.
