The trial is not expected to resume until at least November 1,due to an outbreak of COVID-19 in Greater Sydney.
Lawyers acting for the media outlets served the outlines of evidence on Mr Roberts-Smith’s lawyers earlier this year. They said the media outlets anticipated that Danielle Scott,the best friend of Mr Roberts-Smith’s ex-wife Emma Roberts and formerly a close friend of the couple,would give evidence that Ms Roberts called her on April 6,2018,and said:“Are you sitting down?”
Mr Roberts-Smith’s then wife allegedly told her friend,“I’m standing on my verandah and I’m looking at Ben’s girlfriend.”
According to the outline of evidence,Ms Roberts told her friend that the woman,known as Person 17 in the trial to protect her identity,“had a big black eye”.
“During the phone call Ms Scott had a conversation with[Ms Roberts’ mother] Ms[Christine] Bradley during which Ms Bradley said to Ms Scott words to the effect,‘I asked her if Ben gave her the black eye and she said no’,” the outline of evidence says. Ms Roberts’ step-father was also present,according to the document.
The woman allegedly told Ms Roberts and her family that she had fallen down a flight of stairs at Parliament House in Canberra. Mr Roberts-Smith has denied hitting the woman,and has told the court he iced her injury and stayed up all night monitoring her condition after she fell down the stairs.
Ms Roberts had initially been expected to be a witness for her ex-husband and to say the couple were separated when he started a relationship with Person 17. However,Ms Roberts now says that is false and Mr Roberts-Smith was pressuring her to lie about his affair.