A WIDOW will stand trial, accused of killing her partner in an elaborate plan to inherit his farm near Walcha.
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Natasha Beth Darcy has waived her right to test the evidence against her at a committal hearing, and instead will head straight to trial in the NSW Supreme Court.
But during the brief proceedings on Wednesday afternoon, she begged not to be taken to the Sydney courtroom.
Darcy, dressed in prison greens and with her hair pulled to the side in a high ponytail, appeared in Tamworth Local Court.
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Seated in a prison cell and appearing via video link, she didn't speak during the waiver of committal process until she interjected, asking not to be taken to the supreme court in November.
"She [Ms Darcy] should probably appear in person on that date," her defence barrister Tracey Randall told the court.
No, miss, no.
- Natasha Beth Darcy
"No, miss, no," Darcy interjected.
Ms Randall tendered a signed form waiving Darcy's right to a committal hearing, meaning the murder charge will be heard at trial in the NSW Supreme Court.
"Leave it as AVL [audio-visual link] and I'll talk to Ms Darcy," Ms Randall replied.
Darcy is accused of killing Mathew Dunbar at Walcha more than two years ago.
"I'll commit Ms Darcy's matter for trial to the Supreme Court in Sydney," magistrate Julie Soars said, urging Ms Randall to talk to her client.
"I'll mark that matter as 'bail not applied for, refused' today."
The case had been adjourned two weeks ago after the court was told the Crown had rejected an offer from Darcy's defence team.
Darcy, 43, stands accused of murdering Mr Dunbar on August 2, 2017, on his property, Pandora. Detectives allege Darcy killed him in order to inherit the farm.
The Leader revealed in 2017 that it was the police case that Darcy lied to investigators, used aliases and false names to allegedly source drugs, and made then deleted web browser searches on how to commit murder.
Police will allege that many of the searches related to certain methods of causing death that are undetectable or hard to locate during a post-mortem, and were allegedly deleted from her phone but recovered by police.
The case against Darcy is voluminous, the court has been told on several occasions.
Darcy has been behind bars since her arrest in Walcha in November 2017, accused of the murder three months earlier.
Breanna Chillingworth
Northern Daily Leader Senior Crime and Court Reporter
Northern Daily Leader Senior Crime and Court Reporter
