by Tara Cosoleto, AAP
After bashing his partner to death, Robert Rickerby left his Endeavour Hills home to collect two pizzas for dinner.
Jessica Geddes, 27, was slowly dying in the bedroom of their property after sustaining extensive blunt force injuries to her head and chest.
But Rickerby didn’t immediately call for an ambulance when he returned home, instead eating a few slices of each pizza before calling his parents.
They encouraged him to phone triple zero, which he finally did half an hour later.
When paramedics arrived, they confirmed Ms Geddes was already dead.
Rickerby told police he returned from the pizza shop to find Ms Geddes injured and unconscious, and he immediately started CPR and called for an ambulance.
Detectives did not immediately charge Rickerby over Ms Geddes’ November 2020 death, instead taking until April 2022 to arrest him over the alleged murder.
He was extradited from Queensland and contested the charge, instead offering to plead guilty to manslaughter in May 2024.
The prosecution accepted the offer with Rickerby facing the Supreme Court in Melbourne on Monday for a plea hearing.
Police could not say exactly when Ms Geddes was killed, although it was sometime between 2.40pm and 5.55pm on November 6, prosecutor Campbell Thomson told the court.
A forensic examiner found Ms Geddes would have been dead for at least 30 minutes by the time paramedics assessed her at 6.48pm.
She died of complications from fractures and other injuries caused by Rickerby punching, kicking or hitting her, Mr Thomson said.
Ms Geddes had been subjected to years physical and verbal abuse from Rickerby before her death, the prosecutor told the court.
She was often seen by neighbours and shop owners with black eyes, cuts and bruising to her face and body.
In phone calls to her mother in Queensland, Ms Geddes repeatedly begged for help, with Rickerby often heard in the background yelling and swearing.
No charges were ever laid against Rickerby for the violence, although there was a six-month intervention order taken out against him in 2019.
After being charged over Ms Geddes’ death, Rickerby claimed there was no violence in the relationship, instead pointing to Ms Geddes’ history of drug use and mental health issues.
His lawyer Colin Mandy SC told the court the relationship had been “chaotic and difficult”, with both Rickerby and Ms Geddes using drugs and struggling financially.
Mr Mandy said Rickerby had shown remorse for the killing, as was evident by his early guilty plea to the charge of manslaughter.
The 30-year-old also had good prospects for rehabilitation, Mr Mandy said.
Mr Thomson argued Rickerby’s rehabilitation prospects were guarded at best as he had not worked since 2017 and had an extensive history of drug use.
This case was a serious example of manslaughter aggravated by years of family violence, Mr Thomson said.
Ms Geddes’ mother Saasha Brimble spoke through tears in her victim impact statement, telling the court Rickerby had threatened to send her daughter back to Queensland in a body bag.
“Which was true,” she said.
Justice James Elliott indicated he would sentence Rickerby later this month.
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