Trial starts for man accused of murdering Victorian woman Carlee Smith

A Supreme Court trial of a man accused of killing 48-year-old Hamilton woman Caroline 'Carlee' Smith has begun.

David Douglas McLennan has pleaded not guilty to one count of murder.

A trial has begun for a man accused of murdering a woman near Hamilton in south-west Victoria last year.

Forty-eight-year-old Caroline Smith, also known as Carlee, was found dead by police conducting a welfare check at a home on the Henty Highway, about 300 kilometres west of Melbourne, on May 15, 2025.

David Douglas McLennan has pleaded not guilty to murdering her four days before her body was found.

Warning: This story contains details that may be distressing for some viewers

At the Warrnambool Supreme Court on Wednesday, senior prosecutor David Glynn SC told the jury it was the Crown's case that Mr McLennan killed Ms Smith by strangling her during a violent assault on the evening of May 11, 2025.

The jury was told Ms Smith suffered significant head injuries and 12 separate rib fractures, and that Mr McLennan's DNA was found underneath her fingernails.

The court heard Mr McLennan and Ms Smith were old school friends from Western Australia, and the accused had moved into her south-west Victorian home in October 2023 to assist her when her husband fell ill with terminal cancer.

Ms Smith's husband died in September 2024.

The court heard Mr McLennan and Ms Smith were not in a romantic relationship, but heated arguments had occurred in the lead-up to her death, with text messages between them indicating conflict in their relationship.

This included the accused referring to Ms Smith as "crazy" in text messages sent to family members, and that he was being pushed to "breaking point".

The prosecution would argue Mr McLennan was in a "negative headspace" before the alleged murder, and did not move out from the property despite encouragement from his friends and family.

Mr Glynn told the jury CCTV footage installed in the home did not capture the alleged murder, but it did capture Mr McLennan saying to himself "pretty sure you killed her" in the moments after the fatal assault is thought to have occurred.

The jury heard Mr McLennan remained in the house drinking and smoking for three days while Ms Smith's body lay in the house, and police were called to do a welfare check on May 15 after Ms Smith failed to respond to phone calls and messages, the court heard.

That evening, police officers found Ms Smith's body in the home's spare bedroom and located Mr McLennan in a shed on a neighbouring property, with self-inflicted injuries and a box of beer, Mr Glynn said.

A notebook left on a bench in the home contained next of kin contact details for both the accused and the deceased, the court heard.

Mr Glynn said it also included a note that said "There is evil in this house" and "I was pushed too far … I'm just a man".

Defence lawyer Rosalind Avis told the jury that most of the evidence presented during the trial was not disputed, including that the accused and the deceased had heated arguments and that no one else was present other than Mr McLennan when Ms Smith died.

However, Ms Avis said what was disputed by the defence was whether Mr McLennan intended to kill Ms Smith, or cause serious injury.

"You must dispassionately weigh the evidence with an open mind," she told the jury.

The three-week trial before Justice Jane Dixon continues.