Murder hearing

By Kath Gannaway
THE man accused of murdering 69-year-old Healesville community worker Marea Yann was last week ordered to stand trial.
A two day committal hearing in the Melbourne Magistrates’ Court last week found there was sufficient evidence to commit Joseph Unumadu, Mrs Yann’s son-in-law, to stand trial.
Mrs Yann, manager of the Healesville Living and Learning Centre opportunity shop, was bludgeoned to death in her Juliet Avenue home in September 2003.
The court heard that Mr Unumadu of Frankston, resented Mrs Yann and was obsessed with reuniting with her daughter and his former wife Pauline.
Andrea King, who was known to the accused at the time of the murder, said Mr Unumadu told her that since his divorce the two women had conspired to get him.
She said he told her to tell police when questioned that she didn’t know him.
She told the court that he admitted to her that he had killed Mrs Yann.
“He said to me ‘I did this, I killed her’, she said.
Ms King said she had not told police of Mr Unumadu’s confession until after the coroner’s inquest because she believed they had enough evidence to charge him.
Evidence was also given that Homicide Squad detectives had enlisted the help of neighbour Graham Jones to get information on the location of the accused’s white van on the night of the murder.
Mr Jones said he was wired with a tape recorder when he met with Mr Unumadu at a hotel.
He said the purpose of the wire was to test Mr Unumadu’s alibi for the night of the murder.
Mr Jones agreed when asked by defence barrister David Simon that Mr Unumadu had told him that he and his wife should tell police what they saw.
Mr Jones said the accused also said he had driven his van around a rubbish skip in the driveway of his Frankston house at the time of the murder.
Earlier Mr Jones had told the court: “There was no way any vehicle could get around that skip.”
Mrs Yann’s sister, Deanna Green, told the court of seeing Mr Unumadu parked opposite the op shop where Mrs Yann was working in May 2003.
She said she noticed the van because there had been a lot of talk about drug deals and prostitutes being dropped off there.
She said Marea had also identified the man in the van as Mr Unumadu.
Magistrate Goldberg remanded Mr Unumadu in custody on Tuesday last week to appear at the Supreme Court in Melbourne on 30 January 2007 for a directions hearing.
Mr Unumadu pleaded not guilty to the charge of murdering Marea Yann.