Jury hears police recording of Gerard Baden-Clay reporting his wife missing

http://www.theguardian.com/world/2014/jun/17/jury-hears-recording-gerard-baden-clay

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Former real estate agent Gerard Baden-Clay told police he and his wife were in serious financial trouble the day Allison Baden-Clay vanished, a court has heard.

Audio recordings of the former real estate agent's triple-zero call and subsequent interview with police were played on the fifth day of his murder trial in Brisbane.

It was the first time the jury had heard from Baden-Clay since he pleaded not guilty on the first day of the trial.

The supreme court heard the 43-year-old phoned police at 7.15am on 20 April 2012.

"My wife isn't home and I don't know where she is," he told the operator.

He said he last saw her when she went to bed, and he was now driving the streets looking for her.

"I got up this morning and she wasn't there. That's not unusual, she often goes for a walk in the morning."

During a police interview recorded later that morning at his house, Baden-Clay quietly answered officers' questions about his marriage.

He said he and his wife were having marriage counselling but the relationship was "pretty positive" overall.

Constable Liam Braunberger told the court he asked Baden-Clay about his wife's bank details.

"He stated that she had about $20 available to her and after that he made a statement that they were on the bones of their arses," he said.

Under cross examination Constable Braunberger agreed the conversation had not been recorded but insisted Baden-Clay had said the phrase.