Lynette Daley was allegedly dragged into the ocean, where Adrian Attwater tried to wash the blood from her body before calling triple-zero, court hears

This article is more than 3 years old

This article is more than 3 years old

Lynette Daley lay drunk, naked and bleeding to death in the back of a car after “a wild sex session” with two men on a remote NSW beach, a jury has been told.

She was then dragged into the ocean where Adrian Attwater, 42, tried to wash the blood from her body before calling triple-zero on 27 January 2011, prosecutor Philip Strickland SC has told the NSW supreme court at Coffs Harbour.

Man on trial over death of Lynette Daley 'repeatedly' sexually assaulted her, jury told Read more

Attwater, who has pleaded not guilty to manslaughter and aggravated sexual assault, later said: “I didn’t know a fucking hug can kill you,” Strickland said on Tuesday.

Daley, 33, died from injuries sustained in the alleged sexual assault at Ten Mile Beach, the prosecutor has previously told the court.



Attwater’s friend and co-accused, Paul Maris, 47, has pleaded not guilty to aggravated sexual assault and hindering the discovery of evidence.

The trio had been drinking “a lot of alcohol” on the camping trip and engaged in a sex act on a mattress in the back of Maris’ troop carrier before Daley’s death.



Maris allegedly burnt the bloodstained mattress and sheet before ambulance officers arrived, the crown said on Tuesday.

The crown said Attwater denied being aware of the mother-of-seven’s significant injuries when the pair went skinny dipping before dawn.

Two men charged over death of Lynette Daley after independent case review Read more

“No, she was all fucking sweet,” Attwater allegedly told police.

Attwater said he noticed a bit of blood after a “wild sex session” and “the smell was terrible so we were going into the ocean to wash,” Strickland said.

But the crown alleges Daley’s genital injuries must have been obvious to Attwater.

“When she goes into the ocean ... she doesn’t walk in there unassisted, she doesn’t frolic in there, she is dragged or carried,” Strickland said. “At that stage she is either dead or dying.”

Attwater claims Daley had a seizure, went limp and stopped breathing after about five minutes in the ocean, Strickland said. “The crown says that’s a lie.”

The trial continues.

