Colombian Hector Enrique Valencia Valencia killed transexual sex worker Kimberley McRae in Coogee
>
A Colombian student accused of murdering a sex worker in a fit of rage inside her unit in Sydney’s eastern suburbs sent a message to a friend: “I think I killed horribly,” they told a court.
Hector Enrique Valencia Valencia, 23, admits to assaulting and killing Kimberley McRae in January 2020, but denies killing her.
The NSW Supreme Court was told that Ms McRae was a transgender woman and advertised her sexual services online as a 38-year-old woman.
Valencia responded to an online advertisement and went to his Mount St apartment in Coogee, where Ms McRae performed a series of sexual acts on him, the court heard.
But he didn’t know that Ms McRae was transgender, and when he found out, he “lost control of himself,” defense attorney Claire Wasley told the court on Monday.
Kimberley McCrae, 69, was a transgender woman and advertised sexual services online as a 38-year-old woman.
“It’s the case of the defendant who didn’t know the deceased was 69 or transgender,” Ms Wasley said.
‘The defendant then lost control of himself.’
A broken lamp with a broken power cord was found near Ms McRae’s body when it was discovered on January 14.
Valencia hit Ms McRae once in the stomach and once in the face before they struggled on the ground, Ms Wasley said.
He claims that after beating Mrs. McRae, she attacked him with the lamp, leading him to fear for his life.
The defendant was naked and the deceased was between him and the door. The defendant wanted to leave but he couldn’t,” Ms Wasley said.
He is alleged to have strangled her to death before fleeing the country.
Two days after the deadly attack, Valencia sent a series of Facebook messages to a friend in Spanish, the court was told.
Two days after the deadly attack, Valencia sent a series of Facebook messages to a friend in Spanish, the court was told (above, a digital mockup of the translated evidence read in court).
Valencia sold his motorcycle for $2,000, borrowed $1,000 from friends, and bought a ticket, using his landlord’s credit card, back to Colombia.
“You are one of the few I can trust,” Crown prosecutor Craig Everson SC told the court which read one of the translated messages.
‘And the truth is tomorrow I’m traveling to Colombia. I threw my life away, friend. I’m running away because I don’t want to end up in jail in Australia.’
Everson said the messages continued: “I am embarrassed to say this to anyone. I think I killed a w***e…
I better go to Colombia before they catch me, I can’t see it on the news. I don’t know if she’s dead, but she must be after what happened.
Valencia sold his motorcycle for $2,000, borrowed $1,000 from friends, and bought a ticket, using his landlord’s credit card, back to Colombia.
He boarded a flight back to South America the next day, three days after the altercation inside Ms McRae’s apartment, the court heard
He returned to Colombia but was arrested in Aruba and extradited to Australia, where he has been in custody ever since.
Ms. McRae’s decomposing body was discovered after her twin sister Karen contacted the real estate agent.
Property manager Corrine Smith visited the two-bedroom apartment to see if the tenant was okay.
Ms McRae’s body was found covered with a blanket. She was wearing stockings and a long-sleeved gray top that was pulled down, exposing her breasts.
Asked what she could smell when she entered the unit, Ms Smith told court on Monday: “I could smell, like a bad…decomposition, a strong odor.”
Héctor Enrique Valencia Valencia (pictured in red) returned to Colombia but was arrested in Aruba and extradited to Australia, where he has been in custody ever since.
Valencia arrived in Australia on a student visa in May 2019 and was studying at a Surry Hills university.
Valencia’s defense accepts that he initiated the physical altercation and caused her death, but asserts that he did not intend to kill her or cause her serious bodily harm.
Valencia, 23, pleaded guilty to her manslaughter but denies that he intended to kill or cause grievous bodily harm to Ms. McRae and has pleaded not guilty to her murder.
‘Not guilty,’ Valencia told the court, dressed in green prison clothes and listening intently with the help of an interpreter.
Crown prosecutor Craig Everson SC did not accept a guilty plea on the lesser charge.
Crown’s prosecution has alleged that Ms McRae died from a compression to her neck.
Valencia admitted to submerging three Apple iPhones belonging to Ms McRae in her toilet to try to hide the messages they had exchanged before the murder.
Valencia is facing a single judge trial before Judge Dina Yehia, which focuses on the events that occurred inside Ms. McRae’s home between 3:35 p.m. and 4:15 p.m. on the evening of 8 January 2020.
The trial continues.