NSW Police took almost an hour to respond to reports of a man “bashing the hell out of” a woman in a Salvation Army courtyard, a court has heard.

Robert Karl Huber met divorcee Lindy “Kimmy” Lucena in 2017 and moved in with her before allegedly killing her on January 3, 2023.

There were frequent arguments in the pair’s “volatile” relationship, as well as a death threat and two assaults by Huber, a NSW Supreme Court judge-alone murder trial was told on Wednesday.

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Living in a caravan park at Ballina in the NSW Northern Rivers region after fleeing floods in 2022, the couple later became homeless and moved into the courtyard behind a Salvation Army store in the same town.

The 64-year-old was found dead, lying face up with bruising on her face, after Huber took police back to the courtyard after midnight, crown prosecutor Susan Davies told Justice Stephen Rothman.

The 69-year-old has pleaded guilty to assaulting Lucena, giving her a black eye on December 26, 2022.

However, he has pleaded not guilty to murder and an alternative count of manslaughter over the second assault just before her death.

Various witnesses are expected to testify that they saw the couple arguing at the back of the Salvation Army store hours before the alleged murder.

Passer-by Christopher Daley, who knew Huber, rang triple zero in the evening to warn police about an assault, the court was told.

“There’s a man bashing the hell out of his woman,” he said in a recording of that call played to the court.

NSW Police took almost an hour to respond, finding nothing.

A woman walking her dogs heard a man crying and wailing, and peered through the fence into the courtyard to see a woman lying face down with a naked back.

Hours later police found blood in the courtyard, on green cargo pants Huber was allegedly wearing during the attack and on a golf umbrella.

There was extensive bruising about Lucena’s face and neck, plus fractures on her ribs and the cartilage in her neck.

Three minor haemorrhages on her brain were also detected.

A prosecution medical expert is expected to say the attack caused Lucena’s brain to cease function so rapidly that brain swelling did not have a chance to set in.

Defence barrister Jason Watts disputed whether Huber’s attack actually killed his partner.

While Lucena was found with multiple bruises on her body, not all of them stemmed from the January 3 assault, he told the judge.

The brain injuries were only minor and did not point to any acute trauma, Watts said.

Furthermore, Lucena could have been intolerant to methadone which was found in “therapeutic doses” in her blood, the barrister said.

She also could have died from a type of concussion or an obstructed airway unrelated to the assault, the judge heard.

The trial continues on Thursday.

If you or someone you know is impacted by sexual assault, domestic or family violence, call 1800RESPECT on 1800 737 732 or visit 1800RESPECT.org.au.

In an emergency, call 000.