Wood denies 'standing over' witness

(AAP) Caroline Byrne's former flame has told a Sydney jury he did not try to "stand over" a female witness, but had wanted to stop her facing the media torment he had endured.

Former policeman Andrew Blanchette was being grilled for a second day by Winston
Terracini SC, barrister for Gordon Wood, who is on trial for Ms Byrne's murder.
Wood, 45, has pleaded not guilty in the NSW Supreme Court to throwing Ms Byrne, his
24-year-old live-in lover, off a cliff at The Gap, in Sydney's east, on the night of
June 7, 1995.
In evidence last week, Mr Blanchette said that on the night Ms Byrne died, he shared
a bed - but did not have sex - with a 17-year-old schoolgirl at Rose Bay in Sydney's
east.
On Tuesday he agreed that last Friday he made a "silly mistake" by using a pay phone
to ring the former schoolgirl, but he denied he had tried to "stand over" her so she
would change her statement.
Now an adult, she is an upcoming witness in the case, but cannot be identified
because of her age at the time.
Mr Blanchette said he rang her about taking civil court action against the media,
adding "they have tormented me terribly".
He had been "humiliated" and portrayed "inappropriately" and had wanted to stop
"that, over there", indicating journalists in the court room.
When asked what "that" was, Mr Blanchette replied, "that circus".
"Your sole purpose was to influence her to give false evidence," Mr Terracini said.
"That is completely not correct, it is in relation to the civil proceedings," Mr
Blanchette replied.
The barrister said Mr Blanchette knew the woman had told police he had been absent
from the bed in Rose Bay from late on June 7 until she saw him at 7am the next day.
Mr Blanchette denied being absent for that period.
He also denied telling the woman - who reported his call to police on Friday - that
he remembered the night of June 7 "very clearly".
He denied telling her: "I was already in bed, you came in and got into bed, I felt
uncomfortable and that is why I got out".
Mr Terracini accused Mr Blanchette of having a tongue which was "dripping with lies"
and of trying to pervert the course of justice.
Mr Blanchette denied those claims.
He said he had wanted to arrange for the woman, or preferably her father, to see his
solicitor that day about the civil action.
He denied ending the call by saying: "Nobody needs to know about this phone call, it
didn't happen".
Mr Terracini also accused Mr Blanchette of deliberately misleading jurors by crying
through his evidence and "putting on a performance" to try to ingratiate himself
with them.
"Caroline was one of my dearest friends," he replied.
"I will never ever stop trying to find out what happened to her."
He denied suggestions that in the past he had
tried to bully the woman he rang on Friday, or that he was a very jealous and
aggressive man.
Mr Blanchette told prosecutor, Mark Tedeschi QC, that in his first three statements
to police he had stressed his belief that Ms Byrne had not committed suicide.
Mr Blanchette said he had pleaded with her father to list all the inconsistencies in
the case, and with her boss June Dally-Watkins to make inquiries about the death.
The trial is continuing before Justice Graham Barr.