Brittany Higgins unavailable to appear in court for a third day
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Brittany Higgins is unavailable to appear in court for day three during Bruce Lehrmann’s rape trial – as jury has been told WHEN she will return to the witness stand
- Brittany Higgins trial against ex-colleague lasts seventh day
- Ms Higgins was questioned last week but was unavailable earlier this week
- The trial continues in Mrs Higgins’ absence and the Crown calls other witnesses
- Bruce Lehrmann pleaded not guilty to sexual intercourse without consent
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The trial of the accused rapist of Brittany Higgins continues as the jury has been told the alleged victim cannot appear in court until Friday.
Ms Higgins, 27, alleges Bruce Lehrmann sexually assaulted her in the parliamentary office of then Defense Secretary Linda Reynolds after a night out in Canberra in March 2019.
Lehrmann, 26, is on trial before the ACT Supreme Court and pleaded not guilty to unauthorized sexual intercourse.
Ms Higgins was due to complete her cross-examination by lawyer Steven Whybrow on Monday, but has not appeared in court this week.
The trial continued in her absence, with the Crown calling other witnesses.
The court has withheld the publication of any other evidence until Ms Higgins returns and supplements her evidence.
Brittany Higgins was pictured out of court on Friday (in white) arriving for day four of her rape trial against her former colleague
The jury was told: ‘Mrs Higgins will be back Friday morning, we will do our best to occupy the rest of today and tomorrow with witnesses.
“I expect we’ll have a shorter day on Friday.”
Last week, Ms Higgins was in tears as she was grilled during cross-examination the night in question, also about whether she had vomit stains on her dress.
She also exploded in court when attorney Steven Whybrow told her she had told Mr. Dillaway, the police and her former boss Fiona Brown that she was making doctor’s appointments to bolster her story.
Mrs. Higgins replied loudly, “What you say is deeply insulting.”
‘You are so wrong.
“I don’t know if you’ve ever experienced trauma before… It’s confrontational, it’s very hard to do. I was bedridden, I tried my best. I completely reject everything you say.’
Mr Whybrow also asked why she hadn’t told anyone about the alleged attack for several days, despite having been in contact with Mr Dillaway and her father via text message.
Former Liberal Party staffer Bruce Lehrmann arrives at the ACT Supreme Court in Canberra
In the lyrics, Mr. Dillaway and Mrs. Higgins made light jokes about tacos, margaritas and his recent drive from the Gold Coast in Queensland to Orange in NSW.
The only inference Ms Higgins made about the alleged attack was when she wrote, “Haha, I’m just getting myself in trouble, I’ve got to keep that thing locked.”
Mrs. Higgins told the court, ‘I wasn’t ready to share, I played it out.’
In court, Ms Higgins said she “responded to his messages on autopilot, as if everything was fine.”
Earlier in the trial, Ms Higgins admitted to having deleted photos from her phone before handing it over to police.
The process continues.