Man pleads not guilty to murdering partner in Ballina alleyway in 2023

A Ballina man has pleaded not guilty to murdering his partner, more than 21 months after her battered body was found in a laneway on the NSW mid north coast.

In the NSW Supreme Court on Friday, Robert Karl Huber, 68, pleaded not guilty to the murder of Lindy Lucena in Ballina in January last year.

He also pleaded not guilty to unlawfully killing the 64-year-old woman, also known as “Kimmy”, or assaulting her causing actual bodily harm in the month before her death.

Dressed in prison greens, Mr Huber entered pleas to all three charges via video link from Clarence Correctional Centre.

Crown prosecutors allege he killed Ms Lucena on January 3 last year, before going to Ballina police station at around 12.30am to speak to police.

They allege he then led officers to an alley next to the Salvation Army, where his body was found, suffering from significant head trauma.

The court heard Mr Huber will now face a trial by judge alone after Crown prosecutors agreed to a request from his lawyer Nathan Steel.

Mr. Huber has been in custody since his arrest and will face a two-week trial later this year.