Murder accused 'hated' Sydney nurse

Hours after Sydney nurse Michelle Beets was killed, the man now charged with her
murder allegedly told his wife "the bitch is dead".
Former US marine Walter Ciaran Marsh, 49, is accused of murdering Ms Beets, 57, who
was found dead on the doorstep of her Chatswood home on Sydney's north shore on
April 27, 2010.
A committal hearing began on Monday at Sydney's Downing Centre Local Court, where
Marsh's wife appeared as the first of two prosecution witnesses.
"He told me that he held her and she kept screaming and he pulled her down on the
floor and he put one of his hands over her mouth and he asked her that if you
stopped screaming he would move his hand," said Marsh's Vietnamese wife, who cannot
be named.
"And he told me that she said, 'I'm just afraid you're going to hurt me' and that's
when he cut her throat."
Marsh, an American working in Australia on a 457 visa, started as a nurse at Royal
North Shore Hospital in March 2009 and his feelings quickly soured for manager Ms
Beets, who he referred to as "this woman" or "that bitch", the court was told.
"He hate Michelle (sic), that Michelle had too much power," Marsh's wife said.
By September 2009, Marsh had Ms Beets' home address and allegedly told his wife that
he had checked out the property and neighbourhood at least five times.
Marsh's contract at the hospital ended after 12 months, jeopardising the couple's
future in Australia.
His wife said he was unsuccessful at finding other work and about the same time
bought a 20cm marine knife.
"I'm not sure what he was holding that night but one day when I walked into the
bedroom ... he asked me to stand still so he could try something ... he got one hand
on my throat and then ... he asked me to raise my hand up and he pretend he stabbed
in both my underarm and when I put both my arms down he pretend he was stabbing my
heart," she said.
While admitting to being "freaked out" at the time, the woman said she didn't ask
her husband why he pretended to stab her and that she had learned during their
marriage that "sometimes you need to obey without question".
On the evening of Ms Beets' murder, Marsh met his wife at a Chatswood shopping centre.
"He told me that it was done," she said in court on Monday.
"I asked him, 'What do you mean?' ... then he told me that she would be gone
forever, that the bitch is dead."
She said Marsh later discarded the clothes he wore on the night and poured himself a
glass of Galliano.
Under questioning from Marsh's barrister James Trevallion, the woman admitted that
in early police interviews she lied when questioned about her knowledge of Ms Beets'
murder.
She rejected claims that she changed her evidence after an offer from police to
"help" with visas allowing her and her brother to stay in Australia.
"They said that I should think about what I knew or didn't know and if I can help
the police with any valuable extra information ... they would help me with my visa,"
she said.
"Then I'm independent from my husband and they would protect my identity."
But, she said, her "true" statement to police came before any mention of visas.
Marsh, with his head shaved and a large scar clearly visible along the right side of
his skull, asked to leave the court midway through his wife's evidence, telling his
legal team he didn't want to hear what was said.
Magistrate Julie Huber allowed the request, and the hearing continues on Tuesday.



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