Medical episode delays Bruce Anthony Coss' trial in Moree, charged with murdering Darren Royce Willis in Bingara in 2010

The final prosecution witnesses were expected to be called this week in the trial of Bruce Anthony Coss, 49.

Coss has denied killing his neighbour Darren Royce Willis, 45, by striking him with a baseball bat on a Bingara street in late 2010.

The supreme court in Moree was told on Thursday that defence barrister Peter King had sought medical help in the lunch break and had to urgently leave town.

Crown prosecutor Liam Shaw told Justice Hament Dhanji the trial was unlikely to proceed on Friday - or early next week - and suggested it could be listed for an update on Tuesday.

"I think that makes the most sense," Justice Dhanji said.

"We have the flexibility with a judge-alone trial ... hopefully on Tuesday we will have more information."

Justice Dhanji said a decision would need to be made about returning the trial to Moree or finishing it in Sydney when Mr King had recovered enough to continue.

"It may depend on courtroom availability," he said.

"There is an interest in doing the matter locally if possible."

READ ALSO:

The court heard family members of Mr Willis had been sitting in court to hear the case.

Justice Dhanji conveyed his concerns for Mr King and said he was clearly taking his condition seriously and doing what had to be done.

Coss was reminded that he remains on bail and was asked to phone into court with his solicitor on Tuesday.

The trial had heard close to two weeks of prosecution evidence before the sudden change unfolded.

One of the final witnesses to be called was the detective that headed up the renewed investigation into Mr Willis' disappearance after fresh information was reported to Bingara police in 2018.

Recorded conversations were played to Detective Senior Constable Michael Aslin earlier on Thursday.

Coss could be heard admitting that he did say he was going to kill Mr Willis but that it was a "figure of speech" in the country.

"What, just because I said it you think I actually f***ing carried through with it?" Coss said on the recording.

He could be heard claiming Mr Willis would come over to his house drunk and ask for money or milk or something else, and that "every f***ing second day" the pair would have an argument.

An initial investigation was launched in 2011 after Mr Willis vanished and an inquest was held in 2014. His body has never been found.

Coss was arrested in October 2019 and has pleaded not guilty to the murder charge.

Our journalists work hard to provide local, up-to-date news to the community. This is how you can continue to access our trusted content: