Ex-lover denies menacing Wood witness
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Andrew Blanchette said the media surrounding the trial was a "circus". (ABC)
A former boyfriend of Sydney model Caroline Byrne has denied trying to stand over another witness in the trial for the man accused of her murder.
Forty-five-year-old Gordon Wood has pleaded not guilty to throwing 24-year-old Ms Byrne off The Gap cliff in eastern Sydney in 1995.
Her ex-boyfriend, Andrew Blanchette, was today asked under cross-examination if he had anything to do with the model's death.
The former policeman, who is spending his third day in the witness box, was asked if had phoned another witness in the trial on Friday morning.
Justice Barr intervened to ask him if he wanted legal advice before answering the question, but Mr Blanchette said "no".
He admitted making the call from a public phone box in Camden, saying he phoned the witness because he did not want her to be humiliated the way he believed he had been by the media during the trial.
He described the media as a circus and said he was not obsessed with Ms Byrne.
Mr Blanchette also denied trying to stand over the witness and direct her evidence.
"I've got nothing to hide," he said.
Last week, Mr Blanchette said accusations that he had stalked Ms Byrne were "ridiculous".
Wood's barrister, Winston Terracini, got into a heated exchange with Mr Blanchette over where he was during Ms Byrne's murder.
The day before, Mr Blanchette broke down as he described how days before Ms Byrne's death, the model was pale and teary when she grabbed his arm at the gym and said, "I need to speak to you".
He said that was the last time he saw her.
Mr Blanchette told the court he had sex with Ms Byrne while she was living with Wood. He said that he and Ms Byrne remained good friends after their break-up.
