A British DJ and his Australian girlfriend have faced court in Bali over their alleged involvement in a fatal assault on a police officer.

A nervous David Taylor, 34, and Sara Connor, 45, arrived at court from Kerobokan jail to face three separate charges of unpremeditated murder, assault causing death and group assault, carrying maximum sentences of 15 years, seven years and 12 years respectively.

At the opening of their separate trials on Wednesday at the Denpasar district court, Connor appeared stressed and confused and tried to shield her face from throngs of media.

The pair are charged with the murder of Wayan Sudarsa, 53, a father of two, whose battered body was found on Kuta’s popular tourist beach in the early hours of 17 August.

Sudarsa had 42 wounds to his body, including 17 to the head. On the eve of Connor’s 46th birthday, her lawyers said the Byron Bay woman was innocent – that she did not take part in the alleged assault and only tried to separate Taylor and Sudarsa as they fought.

Asked by the judge, Made Pasek, if Connor understood the indictment, she replied tearfully: “I’m innocent, I’m innocent.’’

Her lawyer, Erwin Siregar, proclaiming she was not guilty, said he would lodge an objection on 16 November.

“During the ‘confrontation’ – when investigators brought Connor and Taylor together – our client said she was protecting the victim and was not involved.”

Siregar said Connor had taken the police officer’s identification cards and had cut them up and dumped them in Jimbaran, in Bali’s south. “She did this so they would not be found by the wrong person.”

He said Connor should only be charged with destroying the evidence, under article 221 of Indonesia’s criminal code, rather than murder. This carries a maximum nine-month jail term.

Connor’s court appearance directly followed Taylor’s in the early afternoon. Taylor has confessed to hitting Sudarsa with a broken beer bottle, a mobile phone and the police officer’s binoculars after accusing him of stealing Connor’s handbag.

The prosecutor, Agung Jayalantara, said the cause of Sudarsa’s death was swelling to the brain, the result of a hard object hitting the back of his head.

As he faced a panel of three judges, Taylor was not supported by family or friends. Several friends had attended for Connor.

Taylor’s lawyer, Haposan Sihombing, after the reading of the indictment, told judges: “We will not object but we will submit a defence statement. David will have a chance to object during the witnesses’ testimony.”

He added: “The reason why we don’t do an objection is because our client already said he was sorry and admitted guilt for what happened that night.

“Our client doesn’t ask for freedom but for a lighter punishment and he said he was really sorry. He understands the victim’s family is suffering terrible grief.’’

Lawyers for Connor are hoping Taylor will corroborate her testimony that she had only tried to separate Taylor and Sudarsa during their altercation and was not involved in the fight.

But Taylor claimed he could not remember the event clearly and has not yet agreed.

“I hope that David can say the truth because he is the key witness for Sara,” one of Connor’s lawyers, Robert Khuana, said on Tuesday during a jail visit to his client.

Yan Erick Sihombing, acting for Taylor, said: “David told police it all happened so fast, he wasn’t sure if she tried to break them up from fighting or if she was involved.”

Taylor had alleged Connor had told him she hit Sudarsa after he bit her leg and hand as the trio wrestled on the sand. Investigators described her bite marks as defensive by the victim.

The pair have been interrogated at length and in late August they re-enacted the alleged attack in more than 40 sequences, wearing garish orange overalls, at the scene of the crime.

Restaging embraces and kisses their moves were examined by throngs of police and media.

They were transferred to Kerobokan jail from police headquarters last month. The trial continues next Wednesday.