PART 2
DANIELLE McKAY | September 23, 2010 02.14pm - The Mercury
THE woman accused of killing a Hobart doctor discussed his will with one of his daughters, a court has heard.
In other evidence presented in the Supreme Court in Hobart this morning, the jury was told that a computer belonging accused murderer Susan Blyth Neill-Fraser had been used to research faraway islands and international boat brokers just weeks before she allegedly killed her defacto, Bob Chappell.
Police seized Ms Neill-Fraser's computer during an investigation into the disappearance of her long-time partner Mr Chappell, 65, who vanished on Australia Day 2009.
Ms Neill-Fraser, 56, of West Hobart, has pleaded not guilty to murder.
Police found that on December 30 and 31, 2008 the computer had been used to search for yacht brokers in the US, UK and Asia, and to research the Pacific islands, Galapagos and Marquesas, the court heard.
Mr Chappell's daughter Kate Chappell, 37, of South Hobart, told the court she was concerned by comments Ms Neill-Fraser made about her sailing future.
Ms Chappell told the court the concerning conversations occurred on December 26, two days after Ms Neill Fraser helped deliver the couple's new yacht, Four Winds, from Queensland to Hobart.
"She said she would have like to have kept on sailing further," she said.
"I got the impression she wanted to sail further and to wider seas."
Ms Chappell said she noted the comment at the time of the conversation.
"I was concerned with that comment and the feeling I got from Sue," she said.
Ms Chappell told the court she had discussed her father's will with Ms Neill-Fraser, about 2004.
"Sue initiated the conversation...it was quite out of the blue," she said.
Ms Chappell said Ms Neill Fraser said Mr Chappell, a father of three, had a lot of superannuation, and the will was quite fair.
"She said my siblings and I would receive between $100,00 and $200,000," she said.
Mr Chappell's estate was worth $1.38 million the court was told.
The trial will continue before Justice Alan Blow this afternoon.
Trial told of blood, knife
DANIELLE McKAY | September 24, 2010 08.09am - The Mercury
BLOOD, a knife and engulfing water confronted the lone police officer first to board the sinking yacht where Bob Chappell was allegedly last seen alive, a court has heard.
Constable Craig Stockdale told the Supreme Court in Hobart he called out to see if anyone was on board the yacht Four Winds when he boarded it about 7am on January 27, 2009.
He told the court he called out as he headed to the wheelhouse of the 16m ketch.
"The first thing I saw was a knife on the floor," he said.
"Then on three steps into the wheelhouse I observed some blood.
"Further up the yacht there was water engulfing it."
Constable Stockdale told the court he saw blood on a yellow torch that was on the right-hand side of the wheelhouse.
He then searched the wheelhouse and attempted to search the yacht's saloon.
"I went as far as I could and yelled out but no one answered," he said.
Constable Stockdale used a police radio to contact Marine Police, who arrived 10 minutes later at 7.25am, the court heard.
He said his police partner waited ashore at Short Beach, Sandy Bay, while local Daryl Balding took him out to the vessel in a dinghy.
In other evidence, Constable John Williamson, who conducted forensic investigations aboard Four Winds on January 29, told the court he took 16 fingerprint lifts from the outside of the yacht.
He also took photos of the yacht's tender, which he presented to the jury yesterday.
Constable Williamson displayed a daylight photo of the tender followed by a second photo in the dark to show where police had applied luminol, a chemical agent used by forensic officers.
The photo taken in the dark revealed extensive bright blue stains on the boat's right side.
Following a cross-examination yesterday, Queensland yachtsman Peter Stevenson told the court that he and a second delivery yachtsman had cleaned Four Winds when they arrived in Hobart on December 24.
Mr Stevenson said there was no blood on the boat from a severe nose bleed Bob Chappell had suffered during the first days of the delivery of the yacht from Queensland to Hobart when he departed.
Director of Public Prosecutions Tim Ellis SC asked Mr Stevenson if the blood pictured in police photographic evidence in areas of the yacht was there when he left the yacht, and he answered: "No it was not."
"We cleaned the boat when we got to Hobart, it wasn't there then."
Man helped woman with boat
MEGAN McNAUGHT | September 25, 2010 12.01am - The Mercury
A BATTERY Point resident has described helping a woman with shoulder-length chestnut hair who was struggling to launch a dinghy near the Sandy Bay Rowing Club on Australia Day last year.
Student Christopher Liaubon had taken his canoe for a paddle and on returning to shore he noticed a woman in her 40s or 50s struggling to free the dinghy, which had become wedged in sand at Short Beach.
THe evidence was presented yesterday before a murder trial in the Supreme Court in Hobart.
Susan Blyth Neill-Fraser, 56, of West Hobart, is accused of killing her long-time defacto Bob Chappell, on Australia Day last year.
Mr Liaubon said the woman had shoulder-length chestnut hair and was wearing a wide-brimmed hat and sunglasses.
He said he first noticed her crossing the grass area from Queen St then saw her struggling with the dinghy.
He said she asked him for assistance and he helped her lift the boat.
"She was trying to swivel it but the [outboard motor] leg was caught in the sand," he said.
He then drove home about 2pm and on leaving he glanced back and saw the woman in the boat.
Other witnesses described seeing a rubber dinghy floating unattended at Short Beach the following day about an hour before the yacht Four Winds was seen taking in water.
Resident Timothy Farmer told the Supreme Court he attended his daughter's rowing practice at 5.40am on January 27 and noticed an unattended dinghy nudging some rocks.
He used a rope at the front of the dinghy to secure the boat.
He said the end of the rope had been inside the boat.
An hour later, Mr Farmer and his daughter's coach Daryl Balding returned from rowing practice in a tender dinghy and noticed Four Winds taking in water.
Also giving evidence yesterday, Mr Balding said they noticed police officers on the shore and he gave one officer a lift to the yacht in his tender.
He said the officer got on board and he went onboard as well but they did not find anyone on the yacht.
Mr Balding said the officer requested he avoid walking on blood stains on the steps.
He noticed the power was turned on and a latch for connecting a dinghy to the stern was undone.
The trial, before Justice Alan Blow, continues.
Accused had drug suspicions
DANIELLE McKAY | September 25, 2010 12.01am - The Mercury
THE West Hobart woman accused of killing her defacto told police she had concerns drugs had been smuggled aboard their yacht, a court has heard.
Constable Milazzo said Ms Neill-Fraser said she had argued with Mr Chappell twice in the weeks leading to his disappearance, because she wanted sniffer dogs to search the yacht and he did not.
"[Ms Neill-Fraser] said Bob was petrified of the boat getting a bad name and people wouldn't want to go out on it," Constable Milazzo said.
During the visit with Ms Neill-Fraser on February 5, Constable Milazzo said she was told Mr Chappell, 65, had been depressed after his first marriage broke down.
She told the court Ms Neill-Fraser said Mr Chappell had planned to retire a year earlier but that was delayed because he wanted to complete a quality assurance manual for work.
Constable Milazzo said Ms Neill-Fraser told police Mr Chappell did not use the home computer, except when checking weather charts.
She told the court she inspected Four Winds on January 27 and Ms Neill-Fraser was present.
She said Ms Neill-Fraser was asked to explain if anything had been disturbed and was told not to touch anything.
"I recall her touching lots of things on the boat," she said.
Constable Milazzo said Ms Neill-Fraser pointed out a number of concerns including electrical switches that were in wrong positions, a heavy fire extinguisher that was missing and wooden floor boards in the boat's saloon that had been removed. Constable Milazzo told the court Ms Neill-Fraser said she had visited Mr Chappell aboard Four Winds on January 26 and she had worked in the yacht's laundry while he worked in the engine room.
The accused told Constable Milazzo Mr Chappell had snapped at her because she was in his way, the court heard.
Ms Neill Fraser told Constable Milazzo she could not say what time she left the yacht, but she said she went to Bunnings Warehouse after she left.
She detailed that she had looked at timber, paint and slip mats while at Bunnings, before leaving when "the light was fading", Constable Milazzo told the court.
Rope moved 'to lower a body'
DANIELLE McKAY | September 27, 2010 01.45pm - The Mercury
A WOMAN accused of killing her de facto husband told a man that ropes on a boat were moved "to lower a body", a court has heard.
Queensland boat broker Jeffrey Rowe told the Supreme Court in Hobart today that Susan Blyth Neill-Fraser said during a phone conversation after her partner Bob Chappell's disappearance that ropes on the couple's boat Four Winds had been moved from the bow to the stern.
"She mentioned a number of ropes had been repositioned on the boat ... repositioned there in order to lower a body," he said.
Ms Neill Fraser, 56, of West Hobart, has pleaded not guilty to murdering her de facto partner Mr Chappell, 65, on Australia Day 2009.
Mr Rowe, who sold the yacht to the couple in 2008, told the court that he had moved the yacht to a different marina in Queensland shortly after its sale because an electrician believed someone had been gaining entry to the boat.
Mr Rowe also said Ms Neill Fraser had called him three weeks before Mr Chappell disappeared and said she had broken up with Mr Chappell.
He told the court she had said she ended their relationship because she was "tired of having to do everything".
Mr Rowe said Ms Neill-Fraser sounded disappointed "but seemed to have herself together pretty well" during the January 8 conversation.
Despite extensive police searches, Mr Chappell's body has never been found after he vanished from the couple's yacht, which was moored off Short Beach, Sandy Bay.
Earlier today, a witness told of seeing a dingy heading towards yachts late on the night Mr Chappell was allegedly murdered.
John Hughes told the court he saw a dingy and heard an outboard motor between 11.30pm and midnight on Australia Day last year near Short Beach.
Mr Hughes said he had driven to Marieville Esplanade to "relax and look out over the water".
He said he saw a dingy travelling in a northeast direction from the Royal Yacht Club of Tasmania.
"The person had the outline of a female ... but I can't be definite," Mr Hughes said.
He said he was unable to see the colour of the dingy, the exact length or what the person was wearing.
The trial continues this afternoon before Justice Alan Blow.
Friend tried to reveal kill plot
DANIELLE McKAY | September 28, 2010 01.25pm - The Mercury
A FRIEND tried to warn Bob Chappell that his de facto partner planned to kill him, a court has heard.
Phillip Triffett told the Supreme Court in Hobart Susan Blyth Neill-Fraser shared plots to kill her brother and Mr Chappell during their friendship.
Mr Triffett said Ms Neill-Fraser asked for his help to take her brother Patrick "out to sea and throw him overboard" in the late 1990s.
Ms Neill Fraser, 56, has pleaded not guilty to murdering Mr Chappell, 65, on Australia Day 2009.
The court heard that Ms Neill-Fraser told Mr Triffett she wanted to kill Patrick because of concerns about their mother's property.
Mr Triffett said Ms Neill-Fraser detailed taking Patrick out to sea in a yacht, throwing him overboard, weighing his body with a tool box and then sinking the yacht by tampering with the bilge pump.
"She wanted to take Patrick out to sea and throw him overboard," he said.
"He was in her way of the property of her mothers."
Ms Neill-Fraser later brought up the plan, but this time in relation to Mr Chappell, around 1997, Mr Triffett said.
"She said what we talked about with Patrick had to happen with Bob," he said.
The court heard Ms Neill-Fraser told Mr Triffett she wanted to get rid of Mr Chappell because of how he managed money and the way he behaved around her daughters.
"Sue suggested Bob was dangerous and more or less said he had to go," he said.
However, the conversation was cut short because Mr Chappell returned home, Mr Triffett said.
He said months later he and his partner were having dinner at Mr Chappell and Ms Neill-Fraser's home and he attempted to reveal the murder plot to Mr Chappell.
"I said she should tell Bob what she planned to do with him," Mr Triffett said.
However, he said Ms Neill-Fraser interjected.
"Sue cut it short, I wasn't able to (tell him)," he said.
Mr Triffett said he was forced to leave after Ms Neill-Fraser called him a liar and asked him to go. He said he did and he never saw them again.
He said he considered telling police, but didn't until Mr Chappell's disappearance.
In testimony this morning, a witness told the court Ms Neill-Fraser claimed police told her Mr Chappell had been murdered onboard the couple's yacht Four Winds.
Queensland mechanic James McKinnon, who worked on the couple's yacht Four Winds, said Ms Neill-Fraser spoke of a fire extinguisher being used to weigh down Mr Chappell's body.
Mr McKinnon said Ms Neill-Fraser told him during a phone call on January 29, 2009, that ropes had been used to winch Mr Chappell's body up from the boat's cabin.
Mr McKinnon said Ms Neill-Fraser told him that a fire extinguisher was tied to his body.
"She expressed her belief was that somebody had murdered him onboard and used the fire extinguisher onboard to weigh down the body," Mr McKinnon told the court.
"They used ropes to winch his body up from the saloon area and tie a fire extinguisher to his body."
Mr McKinnon said Ms Neill-Fraser "claimed that that was what the police had told her".
He said Ms Neill-Fraser was "fairly normal, I don't believe she was upset".
Mr McKinnon told the court the fire extinguisher weighed between 10kg and 15kg.
The trial will continue before Justice Alan Blow this afternoon.
Accused had bandaged wrist
DANIELLE McKAY | September 28, 2010 08.17am - The Mercury
SUSAN Blyth Neill-Fraser was clutching a bandaged wrist and nursing a cut thumb the day after she allegedly murdered her de facto, a court has heard.
Constable Shane Etherington spoke to Ms Neill-Fraser when she first arrived at Marieville Esplanade the day police began investigating the disappearance of her partner Bob Chappell. Constable Etherington told the Supreme Court in Hobart yesterday Ms Neill-Fraser had several wounds.
"There was some sort of crepe strapping wrapped around her wrist that she continually held and a standard Band-Aid on her thumb," he said.
The court heard that Constable Etherington could not recall Ms Neill-Fraser's explanation for her injuries.
But Constable Etherington said that during a conversation about her injuries Ms Neill-Fraser said her fingerprints might be found on a torch aboard the couple's yacht Four Winds.
Constable Etherington said Ms Neill-Fraser did not appear particularly concerned that her partner of 18 years was missing.
"I don't believe she was overly concerned, no," he said.
Ms Neill-Fraser raised concerns that the yacht could have been used to traffic drugs, and suggested that might have explained why the yacht was found sinking, Constable Etherington told the court.
Murky depths dogged search
DANIELLE McKAY | September 29, 2010 08.20am - The Mercury
VISIBILITY, depth and lack of resources restricted police divers' bid to find missing Hobart physicist Bob Chappell a court has heard.
Sergeant Paul Steane told the Hobart court the silt bottom of the Derwent River limited visibility to zero at times, forcing divers to search with their hands.
Sgt Steane, who is the officer in charge of the Tasmania Police dive team, said depths of up to 26m also limited visibility and the amount of time divers could spend searching.
He told the court a team of Victorian police, who scanned the riverbed with sonar-imaging equipment, had limited time to spend on the search.
"If we had them for longer, our search would have gone for longer," he said.
Victoria Police Senior Constable Shane Morton told the court sonar searches on April 18 and 19 last year covered a search zone in the River Derwent of one nautical mile by half a nautical mile.
He told the court the search uncovered 90 objects of interest; 25 targets were cleared by Tasmania Police divers -- however nothing of interest to the case was found.
Sgt John Pratt told the court he co-ordinated a grid search from Sandy Bay to Nutgrove from the police vessel Freycinet on January 27.
He also supervised dive searches of the area but "saw nothing out of the ordinary".
Blood spatter found on yacht
DANIELLE McKAY | September 29, 2010 01.30pm - The Mercury
BLOOD stains spattered with force were found aboard the yacht where Bob Chappell was staying the night he was allegedly murdered, a court has heard.
Forensic scientist Deborah McHoul examined the yacht Four Winds the day after Mr Chappell was believed to be killed, the Supreme Court in Hobart heard today.
Susan Blyth Neill-Fraser, 56, of West Hobart, has pleaded not guilty to murdering Mr Chappell, 65 on Australia Day 2009.
Despite extensive police searches, Mr Chappell's body has never been found.
Ms McHoul told the court she found red and brown drops, which she believed was blood, in several areas of the yacht's wheelhouse and saloon.
The court heard that drops on a wooden panel beside the yacht's wheel were small, indicating they had landed with force.
"The smaller the drop the greater the force," she said.
Ms McHoul said the direction the drops landed indicated they had come from the saloon area, adjacent to the wheelhouse.
The saloon area was in "disarray" while the wheelhouse was "largely undisturbed", Ms McHoul told the court.
Earlier today, the court heard Ms Neill-Fraser was set to inherit 50 per cent of Mr Chappell's estate plus his house, car and material possessions.
Forty per cent of Mr Chappell's estate would go to his three children and 10 per cent to his sister.
His estate included $800,000 in superannuation and about $30,000 in unpaid employment entitlements.
Mr Chappell's lawyer Phillip Kimber told the court Mr Chappell changed his will in 2004 including details of what would happen if his de facto partner Ms Neill-Fraser should survive him by 30 days.
The court heard Ms Neill-Fraser called Mr Kimber on January 29, 2009, three days after Mr Chappell vanished from the Four Winds.
The court head that if Ms Neill-Fraser did not survive Mr Chappell by 30 days, 90 per cent of his estate was to be divided between the couple's five children his son and two daughters and Ms Neill-Fraser's two daughters and 10 per cent to his sister.
Mr Kimber told the court: "She had telephoned me on January 29 and mentioned Bob was missing."
Mr Kimber met Ms Neill-Fraser on February 12 and discussed the will for two hours.
The trial continues before Justice Alan Blow.
Traces of homeless girl
DANIELLE McKAY | September 30, 2010 12.01am - The Mercury
A HOMELESS teenager's DNA was inexplicably found aboard Four Winds, a court was told yesterday.
The 16-year-old Hobart girl's DNA was found on the starboard walkway of the 16m ketch.
The girl, who cannot be publicly named because of her age, told the court she had never been aboard the yacht.
Police matched the girl's DNA with that on the boat using the Tasmanian DNA database.
Forensic scientist Carl Grosser told the court the girl's DNA could have been saliva or skin and that it may have been transferred to the yacht from another site.
"Potentially, the mechanism for that transfer to occur could be on someone's shoe," he said.
Police 'haul body' from yacht
DANIELLE McKAY | September 30, 2010 01.30pm - The Mercury
POLICE acted out hauling a body from the cabin of the yacht where Bob Chappell was allegedly murdered, a court has heard.
The detective who was lifted weighed 98kg and told the Supreme Court in Hobart he couldn't stop the force of the lift, despite attempts to resist.
Hobart CIB detective constable Shane Sinnitt said investigations found that several squares of carpet were missing from the saloon area of the 16m ketch, in front of the engine room.
Det-Const Sinnitt said he stood where the carpet was missing and then a rope that was attached to a winch on the rear deck of the yacht Four Winds was tied around his waist.
A second detective operated the winch, lifting Det-Const Sinnitt from the hull of the yacht.
He said he attempted to brace against areas of the yacht but was unable to resist.
"I couldn't stop him," Mr Sinnitt told the court.
Det-Const Sinnitt told the court he weighted approximately 98kg.
The reconstruction took place while Four Winds was kept a ship yard in Goodwood in February 2009, following the disappearance of Mr Chappell.
Susan Blyth Neill-Fraser, 56, of West Hobart, has pleaded not guilty to murdering her long time defacto Mr Chappell, 65.
Mr Chappell vanished from the couple's yacht Four Winds on Australia Day 2009, and despite extensive police searches his body has never been found.
Earlier today the court was told a three-day nose bleed left blood in many rooms on the yacht.
Speaking via video link, Queensland yachtsman David Casson told the court that Mr Chappell's nose began bleeding in the engine room of the yacht Four Winds on December 7, 2008.
Mr Casson said Mr Chappell's nose continued to bleed until the yacht docked at Southport on December 9, where he was taken to hospital.
The court heard there was a small amount of blood in areas including the cockpit and engine room.
"I can't specifically recall seeing it in the saloon area," Mr Casson said.
The court yesterday heard that blood stains spattered with force were found in the yacht's wheelhouse and saloon area.
Mr Casson told the court the blood had been cleaned up.
"I'm not real keen on blood anywhere; in this day and age you don't know what's in blood," he said.
The trial continues before Justice Alan Blow.
Court told of police bugs
DANIELLE McKAY | October 01, 2010 01.02pm - The Mercury
POLICE surveillance recorded more than a month's worth of data after bugging the home of the woman accused of murdering Hobart physicist Bob Chappell, a court has heard.
Hobart CIB detective constable Shane Sinnitt told the Supreme Court in Hobart police planted listening devices in Susan Blyth Neill-Fraser's home in March 2009, more than a month after Mr Chappell disappeared.
The court heard 96 discs were produced, each containing about eight hours of data.
Det-Const Sinnitt said police listened to the audio, however details were not heard in court.
Ms Neill-Fraser, 56, of West Hobart, has pleaded not guilty to murdering her de facto Mr Chappell, 65, who vanished from the couple's yacht Four Winds on Australia Day 2009.
Defence counsel David Gunson SC accused Det-Const Sinnitt of misleading Ms Neill-Fraser during an interview, before her arrest on August 20, 2009.
The court heard Ms Neill-Fraser told Det-Const Sinnitt she was aware a witness had seen a dinghy moored beside Four Winds late on Australia Day 2009.
Det Const said he told Ms Neill-Fraser the witness saw the dinghy at 3.55pm, which contradicted Ms Neill-Fraser's account that she had left Four Winds about 2pm.
Ms Neill Fraser told Det-Const Sinnitt, "it must have been me, I must have stayed there longer than I first thought," the court heard.
However, Mr Gunson accused Det-Const Sinnitt of misleading Ms Neill-Fraser, because the witness said the dinghy he saw was grey, while the dinghy belonging to Four Winds was white.
Det Const Sinnitt told the court he did not believe he misled the witness nor did he intend to mislead the witness.
The court head that Det-Const Sinnitt did not investigate a grey dinghy.
"I was of the opinion that the person on board was the accused," he told the court.
The court heard a second witness came forward after Ms Neill-Fraser was charged with murder, stating she saw a grey dinghy tethered to Four Winds on Australia Day about 5pm.
During re-examination, Director of Public Prosecutions Tim Ellis SC asked Det-Const Sinnitt what colour the trim on the dinghy belonging to Four Winds was, and he answered "grey".
Witness faces own charges
DANIELLE McKAY | October 02, 2010 12.01am - The Mercury
A MAN who alleged Susan Blyth Neill-Fraser plotted to kill her de facto asked police if giving evidence would help him with his own criminal charges, the Supreme Court in Hobart heard yesterday.
Phillip Triffett, of Old Beach, was recalled to the witness box yesterday after this week telling the court Ms Neill-Fraser had spoken of plots to kill long-time partner Bob Chappell.
Mr Triffett, who was friends with Ms Neill-Fraser in the 1990s, said her plans involved dumping a weighted body from a yacht before tampering with the bilge and sinking it.
The court heard yesterday that on January 7 last year, Mr Triffett was charged in relation to the unlawful possession of ammunition and several items of property.
On January 28, two days after Mr Chappell went missing, Mr Triffett contacted a detective involved in charging him, saying he had information.
The court heard Mr Triffett met police a couple of days later and outlined details of Ms Neill-Fraser's murder plots.
Defence counsel David Gunson, SC, asked Mr Triffett if he said to police, "Will this help me with those charges?" and he replied, "Yes".
Mr Gunson asked if the officer said, "I don't think so, it's not up to me", and he replied, "Yes".
Mr Triffett told the court he did not contact police in a bid to get off the charges.
"I came forward because of what I heard and I suspected that I knew something about Bob's disappearance," he said.
Director of Public Prosecutions Tim Ellis, SC, asked Mr Triffett if there was an understanding that his charges may be changed if he assisted police and he answered "no".
"I wasn't worried about it, I didn't need any assistance," Mr Triffett said.
The charges against Mr Triffett proceeded in the Magistrates Court and he pleaded guilty.
Ms Neill-Fraser, 56, of West Hobart, has pleaded not guilty to murdering Mr Chappell, 65, who vanished from the couple's yacht Four Winds on January 26, 2009.
Woman tells of guilt
DANIELLE McKAY | October 04, 2010 01.49pm - The Mercury
THE woman accused of murdering Hobart physicist Bob Chappell said she has been consumed with guilt since his death, a court has heard.
Susan Blyth Neill-Fraser told police during an interview that "every waking hour" she had felt guilty over leaving Mr Chappell aboard the couple's yacht Four Winds the day he was murdered.
The four-hour police interview recorded on April 3, 2009 is part of almost eight hours of video interviews with Ms Neill Fraser that will be shown in the Hobart Supreme Court trial.
In the interview Ms Neill-Fraser said she didn't expect Mr Chappell to spend the whole night aboard the yacht in "choppy and rough" conditions.
The court heard Ms Neill Fraser told police it was "almost unheard of" for Mr Chappell to plan to skip a days work.
Ms Neill-Fraser told police she left her mobile with Mr Chappell in case he wanted to leave the vessel, so he could contact her and she could return the dinghy she used to get to shore to pick him up.
"I've been consumed every waking hour with guilt," she told police.
However, she said Mr Chappell was "not physically confident" and his "co-ordination wasn't very good".
"Believe me, Bob would have been at far greater risk if he was getting in and out of the dinghy on his own," she said.
The court heard Ms Neill-Fraser told police that Mr Chappell had "ended up on his back" in the bottom of the dinghy several times when trying to get in and out of it.
Ms Neill-Fraser, 56, of West Hobart, has pleaded not guilty to murdering her long-time defacto Mr Chappell, 65.
Mr Chappell disappeared off the yacht Four Winds on Australia Day 2009 and despite extensive police searches, his body has never been found.
The trial will continue before Justice Alan Blow this afternoon.
Trouble expected from deceit
DANIELLE McKAY | October 05, 2010 02.05pm - The Mercury
THE woman accused of killing Bob Chappell told police she expected to be in trouble for lying about her movements the night her de facto was killed, a court has heard.
During a four-hour police interview being played in court today, Susan Blyth Neill-Fraser told investigators she did return to Sandy Bay the night Mr Chappell was allegedly murdered.
The claim contradicted stories Ms Neill-Fraser had previously told police about here whereabouts on Australia Day 2009 when Mr Chappell vanished from the couple's yacht Four Winds.
Ms Neill-Fraser told police she couldn't even remember being interviewed the day after Mr Chappell went missing, when she told them she spent the afternoon of January 26 at Bunnings Warehouse.
The Supreme Court in Hobart heard in the interview, which was recorded on May 5, 2009, that Ms Neill-Fraser believed she was probably in shock that day.
"It's like walking through thick smoke," she said.
Later during the interview, Ms Neill-Fraser told police she had returned to Sandy Bay on Australia Day night, following a concerning phone call.
She said she walked down to her car, which she had left near Marieville Esplanade, but realised she had grabbed the wrong keys.
She walked all the way back to her West Hobart home to collect the correct keys and back again, a trip which she estimated took 15 minutes one way.
However she was unable to tell police which way she walked, saying she did that walk all the time and couldn't remember.
"I'm not trying to be obstructive," she told police.
During the interview, detectives accused Ms Neill-Fraser of lying and manipulating her daughters, because she did not tell them she returned to Sandy Bay.
Detective Sergeant Simon Conroy asked why Ms Neill-Fraser did not tell her daughters she returned until they identified a car similar to hers, which was captured on CCTV footage driving along Sandy Bay Rd about 12.25am on January 27.
Ms Neill-Fraser said she hadn't wanted to lie to them and "just hadn't told them".
Ms Neill Fraser told police she hadn't told detectives she returned to Marieville Esplanade because she didn't want to upset Mr Chappell's son Timothy and she didn't want to end up on the front page of the press.
She admitted she should have told police.
"I expect to get into a lot of trouble for it," she said.
Ms Neill-Fraser, 56, of West Hobart, has pleaded not guilty to murdering Mr Chappell, 65, on Australia Day last year.
Earlier today, the court heard Ms Neill-Fraser used drug claims to distract the murder investigation.
During the interview being played in court, Ms Neill-Fraser denied any intention to mislead police during the investigation into the disappearance of Mr Chappell.
The court heard Ms Neill-Fraser believed that the couple's yacht, Four Winds, could have been used to traffic drugs.
She claimed the yacht had been illegally entered in Queensland and Hobart, the court heard.
"We were concerned somebody could have put something on the boat," Ms Neill-Fraser told police.
She told police she contacted the drug squad to get sniffer dogs to check the boat.
Police told Ms Neill-Fraser they had looked into her claims by contacting every drug squad officer and by checking phone records.
Sgt Conroy told Ms Neill-Fraser that her claims of contacting the drug squad were "unsupported in every aspect".
The police interview shows Sgt Conroy telling Ms Neill-Fraser that there was no evidence to support the claim she had made a phone call.
Sgt Conroy suggested she had made the claims to distract police from their murder investigation.
"Ms Neill-Fraser said: "I didn't intend to."
The trial before Justice Alan Blow continues
I didn't murder him
DANIELLE McKAY | October 05, 2010 08.34am - The Mercury
THE woman accused of killing Hobart hospital physicist Bob Chappell told police "I did not murder him", a court heard yesterday.
During an interview in March last year, Susan Blyth Neill-Fraser told police she knew she was a suspect in the murder investigation.
But the 56-year-old from West Hobart maintained her innocence.
"I know I must be a suspect, I mean I didn't murder him and throw him overboard attached to a fire extinguisher," she said.
Ms Neill-Fraser has pleaded not guilty to murdering Mr Chappell, her de facto husband, on Australia Day last year.
During the four-hour recorded interview with police on March 4, Ms Neill-Fraser said she didn't know what had happened to Mr Chappell the night he vanished from the couple's yacht Four Winds at Sandy Bay.
Ms Neill-Fraser told police she had considered three or four different scenarios.
"I think that something was winched out of [Four Winds]," she told police.
"There's no question somebody winched something, I think with those ropes, and I don't think it was Bob because he was too light."
The court heard Mr Chappell, 65, weighed about 64kg.
She told police that allegations she had plotted to kill Mr Chappell were "fabricated" by people who had "an axe to grind" and accusations she had ended their relationship were not true.
She said her family had a "running joke" about her leaving Mr Chappell, and another about her throwing him overboard.
"OK, another joke, and again this was in front of Bob, was if you annoy me any more you'll be dropped overboard," she told police.
During the interview, Ms Neill-Fraser said that since Mr Chappell's disappearance she had been consumed with guilt about leaving him aboard Four Winds the day he vanished.
In the interview, Ms Neill-Fraser said she didn't expect Mr Chappell to spend the whole night aboard the yacht in rough conditions.
She told police she left her mobile with Mr Chappell so he could phone her if he wanted her to bring the dinghy and take him ashore.
She said Mr Chappell had previously encountered difficulty getting in and out of the dinghy on his own.
The trial will continue before Justice Alan Blow today
Police re-interview witness
DANIELLE McKAY | October 06, 2010 12.03pm - The Mercury
TASMANIA Police last night re-interviewed a witness in the murder trial of Susan Blyth Neill-Fraser.
Det-Sgt Simon Conroy took a second statement from Paul Conde after advice from the Department of Public Prosecutions Tim Ellis, SC.
The Supreme Court in Hobart today heard Mr Conde describe a commercial-type dinghy seen near the yacht Four Winds at 3.55pm on Australia Day.
The court heard from last night's interview that Mr Conde said that the dinghy had a lee-cloth, a pointed bow and was old and scuffed.
Defence Counsel David Gunson, SC, said the described dinghy differed from the dinghy that belonged to the accused, suggesting someone else could have been aboard Four Winds that day.
Last night Det-Sgt Conroy re-interviewed Mr Conde, admitting that the original questioning, which was not conducted by him, was pretty poor.
Sgt Conroy told the court that the purpose of the questioning was to establish if there were any lines of inquiry that police could investigate.
He told the court that there were no further lines of inquiry.
Mr Gunson asked if the "trail is cold" and Det-Sgt Conroy, said "Yes."
Mr Gunson said that the boat was not inquired about because an assumption was made that it was the accused in the dinghy.
Det-Sgt Conroy said: "That was not the assumption."
The detective said police made inquiries at yacht clubs and surrounding residences "about all dinghies and considered everyone's descriptions" at the time.
Cross examination of Det-Sgt Conroy continunes before Justice Alan Blow.
Ms Neill-Fraser, 56, of West Hobart has pleaded not guilty to the murder of her long-time de facto Bob Chappell, 65, on January 26 last year.