Eleventh-hour evidence could point to another theory about how Elong Elong man Robert Dickie disappeared seven years ago.
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The new evidence has come to light five weeks into the trial of 50-year-old Kylie So, who is accused of killing the 71-year-old retired farmer.
Crown prosecutor Liam Shaw told the Supreme Court in Dubbo on Tuesday that he had obtained "new material" which may point to an "alternative hypothesis" around Mr Dickie's disappearance.
![Kylie So's defence lawyer Ian Nash enters Dubbo Court as her trial got underway on Monday, August 14. Picture by Belinda Soole Kylie So's defence lawyer Ian Nash enters Dubbo Court as her trial got underway on Monday, August 14. Picture by Belinda Soole](/images/transform/v1/crop/frm/137578502/8388f64c-b2b8-4df5-a8ae-7038dfc43371.jpg/r0_0_4677_3375_w1200_h678_fmax.jpg)
He said as soon as he knew what the material was he shared it with So's counsel, Ian Nash.
"It pertains to other suspects police investigated," Mr Shaw said.
Mr Shaw explained the material related to a possible connection between a person who had lived across the road from Mr Dickie and another suspect police had interviewed.
In light of the material, presiding judge Justice Mark Ierace ordered four additional witnesses to present to court on Monday, September 18, to give their statements.
An international love affair gone wrong?
The new evidence could shed doubt on the Crown's theory that So killed Mr Dickie during a fight after he tried to kick her out of his Wattle Road home. So had arrived in Australia from New Zealand to stay with Mr Dickie just days before he was last seen on June 14, 2016.
Despite extensive searches of the area, no trace of Mr Dickie's body has ever been found. Officers who visited the home in the days following the disappearance noted nothing unusual.
In a video played for the court, So told police that Dickie said he was "going to a party" that evening and got in a car with another person and never returned home.
She said Mr Dickie told her he "loved her" and wanted to marry her.
"I wanted to stay with Bob. He told me he is my boyfriend... He said we will get married soon, but not now," she said.
"He had plenty of girlfriends but I don't care, he said he loved me."
But family and neighbours of Mr Dickie told the court that he wasn't interested in long term relationships and had exchanged drugs for sex with a number of "vulnerable" women in the Dubbo and Forbes area.
They say it would be "out of character" for Mr Dickie - who they thought to be "security conscious" and a man of routine - to go to a party and leave a stranger in his home.
Missing man had raised alarm
In the months leading up to his disappearance, Mr Dickie had raised alarm with police about possible concerns for his safety.
Detective Adrian Tighe told the court on Friday, September 9, that Mr Dickie had reported an incident in February 2016 where he was hassled for money by a woman who he had previously had a sexual relationship with.
![Robert Dickie with his prized car, a late model red Mustang Shelby. Photo via NSW Police Robert Dickie with his prized car, a late model red Mustang Shelby. Photo via NSW Police](/images/transform/v1/crop/frm/137578502/27ee6777-604a-4ec0-9e9d-911e45f18878.jpg/r0_49_960_591_w1200_h678_fmax.jpg)
He told police he received a phone call from a different woman - known to him - asking if she could stay at his house while she was travelling through the area. Mr Dickie agreed and she asked that he meet her at a BP service station to pick her up.
When Mr Dickie pulled into the service station both women were there. The first woman shoved aside the second woman and got in the car with him.
She demanded that Dickie drive to an ATM and give her $2000 but Dickie said he would be unable to withdraw that much money and agreed to give her $1000. After he handed over the cash, he dropped the woman off at her mother's house.
Dickie refused to elaborate to police what the woman said she needed the money for. He requested that police take no action but just wanted the incident on record.
Inquiries were made into the whereabouts of the woman at the time of Dickie's disappearance - she was found to be in custody.
The trial of Kylie So continues at the Supreme Court in Dubbo this week.
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