- Brenden Bennetts has pleaded not guilty to murder in Brisbane’s Supreme Court
- But he has pleaded guilty to interfering with a corpse and manslaughter
- Schoolgirl Jayde Kendall’s body was found in a paddock in August 2015
- The 16-year-old’s underwear was in the pocket of her school uniform
- Ex-girlfriends of Bennetts, 21, will testify he tried to strangle them during sex
Ex-girlfriends of Brenden Jacob Bennetts will testify he tried to strangle them while they were having sex, a court has heard.
Bennetts, 21, has pleaded guilty to the manslaughter of 16-year-old Gatton schoolgirl Jayde Kendall and interfering with a corpse but is on trial in the Brisbane Supreme Court for murder.
The court heard on Monday three of Bennetts’ previous girlfriends will testify he would put his hands around their throat and strangle them as they had sex.
Jayde Kendall (pictured) was found in a paddock with her underwear stuffed into her pocket
Brenden Bennetts (right) has pleaded guilty to manslaughter and interfering with a corpse, but pleaded not guilty to murder
Earlier the court heard Jayde was killed and unceremoniously dumped in a field with her underwear in her pocket just hours after being picked up by Bennetts.
The jury heard Jayde was last seen alive getting into Bennetts’ distinctive red Toyota Corolla after school on Friday, August 14, 2015.
Prosecutor Vicki Loury QC said the 16-year-old would be ‘dead by 5pm’ and her body found 13 days later covered in grass on the outskirts of town.
The court heard Jayde’s body was too badly decomposed to determine a cause of death but her underwear was found in her school tracksuit pocket and she was not wearing any shoes or socks.
Various people saw Bennetts returning to town after 4.30pm without anyone else in his car and he was captured on CCTV withdrawing $70 from her bank account at a Commonwealth ATM just after 6pm.
Bennetts (pictured in court sketch) told police he had picked up Jayde in his red Toyota Corolla on the day she died because she wanted to run away
Ms Loury said Bennetts initially told investigators he had no contact with Jayde, but when shown evidence to the contrary told them he picked her up because she wanted to run away and asked him to withdraw the cash.
The court heard Jayde’s disappearance became a homicide investigation after her wallet was found by a member of the public on the side of the highway and her bank account was not touched on pay day.
The 21-year-old has pleaded not guilty to murder and remains in custody.
Bruce Morrissey (pictured centre of both pictures) the father of Jayde Kendall, attended court on Monday surrounded by supporters
When it was found 13 days after her disappearance, Jayde’s body was too badly decomposed to determine a cause of death
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