TODAY MARKS the beginning of Byron Bay mum Sara Connor’s murder trial in Bali.
Sara, along with boyfriend David Taylor, are charged with the murder of Balinese policeman Wayan Sudarsa on the beach at Kuta, Bali.
Both Sara and David are charged with unpremeditated murder, group assault or assault leading to death, which carry a maximum 15 years’ jail.
The trial is expected to last for months, with the defendants appearing before the court one or two days per week.
It will be conducted under the Indonesian legal system which is modeled on the Dutch system where there is no jury, but rather a panel of three judges.
Sara’s defence has more than 70 character witness statements from family and friends in Byron Bay after a plea for references was made last month.
The Byron Bay community called for supporters of Sara to write character references for her ahead of the trial.
“It is important that the court in Bali know what a wonderful woman Sara really is,” her supporters said in a statement on the website thesarafund.com.
Her defence team will move to have Sara’s charges changed to elimination of evidence, which carried a maximum penalty of seven months’ jail.