R v Afu; R v Caleo (No 2)

In the case of R v Afu; R v Caleo (No 2), the defendants were being tried for two separate murders. The court had to decide on the admissibility of certain hearsay evidence in relation to the deceased wife's statements to a friend, which were alleged to be relevant to the husband's involvement in the murder of both the wife and her brother. The central legal issue was whether the statements made by the deceased wife to the friend could be admitted as evidence under the provisions of the Evidence Act 1995 (NSW), specifically sections 65, 66A, and 137.

The court carefully considered the criteria set out in the Evidence Act for admitting hearsay evidence. It examined whether the deceased wife was unavailable as a witness and whether the statements were relevant to the matters in issue. The court also assessed whether the statements had probative value and whether admitting them would not be unfair to the defendants. The court determined that the statements met the criteria for admissibility under the hearsay exception provisions. The statements were deemed relevant to the husband's involvement in both murders and had sufficient probative value to be admitted as evidence.

The court concluded that the hearsay evidence was admissible under the provisions of the Evidence Act. The statements made by the deceased wife to the friend were allowed as evidence in the trial. The court's reasoning was based on the unavailability of the deceased wife as a witness, the relevance of her statements to the matters in issue, and the probative value of the statements. The court found that the admission of the hearsay evidence did not unfairly prejudice the defendants. The court's decision allowed the prosecution to present the statements as part of their case against the defendants.

The final orders of the court were that the hearsay evidence in question was admissible under the Evidence Act. The statements made by the deceased wife to the friend were permitted to be used in the trial against the defendants for the two murders.