A SYDNEY jury has been told they must not draw any "adverse inference" from the fact a man accused of killing his gay lover is facing a third trial.
Philip Wan Por Leung, 51, has pleaded not guilty to the manslaughter of 72-year-old Mario Guzzetti, who died at the home they shared at Alexandria, in inner Sydney, on April 7, 2007.
Paramedics found Mr Guzzetti lying on his back at the base of a staircase, with a hysterical Leung cradling a pillow under his partner's head and rocking him from side to side.
The crown alleges the couple argued while Leung was making carrot juice, resulting in Leung striking Mr Guzzetti and applying pressure to his neck area.
In the NSW Supreme Court on Thursday, Justice Derek Price told the jury they had "heard there have been two previous trials".
"Due to matters of law, the accused is standing trial. You must not draw any inference adverse to the accused from that fact," he said.
Earlier, Leung broke down sobbing during evidence being given by Josephine DiFrancesca, a friend of him and Mr Guzzetti.
Ms DiFrancesca was questioned about a phone call she made to Leung on the morning of Mr Guzzetti's death.
"Did you hear Philip crying over the phone?" crown prosecutor Mark Hobart SC asked.
"Yes," she said, adding that she assumed something was wrong and called her husband to go to the house and check on the couple.
She said her husband found Leung holding Mr Guzzetti and told his daughter to call an ambulance.
Fiona Cunney, who lived next door, told the court she heard noises about an hour before paramedics arrived.
She said she heard "crashing sounds", like a shelf with pots and pans falling, and what she believed was Mr Guzzetti "singing opera" for about 10 seconds and then silence.
Leung later started crying "like a baby", Ms Cunney said, but she decided not to call police because she "didn't want to get involved".
Defence barrister Winston Terracini SC questioned her evidence, alleging Ms Cunney did not like Leung and had had prior arguments with him over renovation works.
Friend Raymond Carter said he was called to the police station where Leung was being held but could barely understand him.
He told the court Leung repeatedly screamed, "Mario is not dead," before saying he and Mr Guzzetti had argued while he was making carrot juice.
"Mario kept at me," Leung allegedly said.
Mr Carter, a former boyfriend of Leung's, added that he'd never witnessed any violence between the "loving and caring" couple but had heard of occasional arguments.
He said Leung was "stubborn" and "not a very diplomatic person" but never violent.
"He'd walk away, slam the door and it'd be a day or two before you'd see him," he told the court.
The trial before Justice Price continues.
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