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Sydney
There is sex, greed, power and financial intrigue. The mysterious death of glamorous eastern suburbs model Caroline Byrne has all the ingredients of a thumping good murder mystery. Now 13 years after her body was found at The Gap, Sydney's notorious suicide spot, the full story is beginning to unfold.
This week Byrne's former boyfriend, Gordon Eric Wood, 45, went on trial for her murder. Wood has pleaded not guilty, but expectations are running high that this will be the trial of the year.
Apart from delving into the turbulent relationship between Wood and his  younger girlfriend, the case looks certain to cast light on the business dealings of some of Australia's most powerful men.
At the time of  Byrne's death in June 1995, Wood was employed as the chauffeur of flamboyant Sydney stockbroker Rene Rivkin - both men were, coincidentally, under investigation for questionable share trading. Wood later disappeared overseas. Rivkin committed suicide in 2005.
Although police initially treated Byrne's death as a tragic and unexpected suicide, doubts soon began to surface about the circumstances surrounding her demise.
Witnesses came forward claiming to have seen a man similar to Wood at The Gap before her disappearance. Others claimed to have heard a heated altercation or the terrified scream of a woman. Later scientific research suggested  the position of the body - nine metres from base of the cliff - was inconsistent with suicide. One investigator claimed that Byrne, 24, had been 'spear-thrown' by a strong man from the top of the cliff - a well-known beauty spot near Watsons Bay.
Wood was extradited  from Britain in 2006 and charged with murder. After several years living what friends called a 'hand-to-mouth existence' in Europe, the former fitness instructor landed a job as a highly paid executive with British health club LA Fitness. He was flown back to Australia under police escort to stand trial.
After a lengthy committal hearing, the former Bondi chauffeur was ordered to stand trial for Byrne's murder.
The trial, which began on Monday, is expected to be the longest, most expensive criminal trial in Australian history.
At least 200 witnesses will be called.
In his opening address before the NSW state  Supreme Court, Crown prosecutor Mark Tedeschi QC painted a portrait of Wood as a manipulative, short-tempered and possessive man.
The court heard that in the weeks before her death,  Byrne  had become increasingly fearful of her boyfriend.
The Crown alleges that Wood was convinced his girlfriend would betray him (and his employer) to the Australian Securities and Investment Commission.
Both men had  appeared before the investment watchdog over insider trading allegations surrounding the unexplained fire at Sydney printing works Offset Alpine - the fire delivered a A$40 million insurance windfall to the firm.
Byrne told her father: 'Rene believes I know too much about his business and his private life.'
But Mr Tedeschi told the jury the prosecution believed she was 'deliberately thrown by a very strong man' to her death and the evidence pointed  only to   Wood.
At any rate, the Supreme Court is the hottest ticket in town.



'Trial of the year' has the elements of an Agatha Christie mystery