Teah Luckwell murder: accused Jesse Leigh Green's special hearing for 2018 South Tamworth case begins in NSW Supreme Court

Jesse Leigh Green is accused of murdering Ms Luckwell at her Robert Street home in the early hours of March 28, 2018.

A special judge-alone hearing opened in the NSW Supreme Court in Tamworth on Monday, though Justice Stephen Campbell and the 30-year-old accused appeared via video due to COVID-19.

Crown prosecutor Brian Costello said in his opening address Ms Luckwell, a 22-year-old mother, was found lying in a pool of blood inside the front door of her Robert Street unit several hours after her death.

He said she had suffered "significant stab wounds" to her upper neck and back.

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The Crown's case is that Green knifed Ms Luckwell with the intent to "kill her, or at the very least, an intent to inflict grievous bodily harm on her".

Mr Costello said two neighbours from different homes near the scene both reported hearing a scream in the early hours of the morning Ms Luckwell died.

He said it was a sound one neighbour described as a "blood-curdling female scream".

The Crown argued forensic evidence and CCTV footage that will be presented in the case would put Green in "very close proximity" to the Robert Street unit about the time Ms Luckwell's "final terrified screaming" was heard.

A neighbour reported seeing a tall man running and stumbling down the street after they heard a scream, Mr Costello said.

He said that same neighbour claims they heard the man said in a panicked voice, "Oh s***, oh f***", about 4:20am on March 28, 2018.

The court heard Green and his alleged victim knew each other, but Mr Costello said the relationship was "not a friendly one".

He said Ms Luckwell had reported violence at the hands of Green in the past, and the accused was in a "hostile" state of mind that night when he allegedly tried to break into another home.

The defendant's movements in the hours before the alleged murder were recorded on CCTV cameras across Tamworth, Mr Costello said, including around the Robert Street unit block where Ms Luckwell was found dead.

Public defender Stuart Bouveng opened the defence case on Monday with a short address.

Mr Bouveng said the "live issues" in the murder case included Ms Luckwell's time of death; the identity of the alleged attacker or attackers; their opportunity to strike; as well as the rigour of the police investigation.

He said forensic evidence taken from the body of the deceased and inside the flat where she was found pointed to a number of other people besides Green.

The 30-year-old is facing additional charges during the special hearing, including break and enter; and using an offensive weapon.

The Crown's first witness, Detective Senior Constable Todd Pascoe, was called on Monday and more than an hour of CCTV footage was presented to the court.

Detective Senior Constable Pascoe was walked through segments of footage taken from the Robert Street complex on the morning of the alleged murder, as well as footage from Peel Street and locations in South Tamworth.

He gave evidence that items of clothing that appeared in the footage, which had been linked to the accused, were of interest to police, including a hat, a pair of mismatched socks, thongs and t-shirt.

The special hearing is slated to run for two weeks.

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