A woman pleaded not guilty on Tuesday to killing her partner, who prosecutors say died of asphyxiation after she left him bound and gagged during a bondage session while she took a shower.
Jean Margaret Meiers, 58, pleaded not guilty in Brisbane's Supreme Court to a charge of manslaughter in the 2004 death of 47-year-old Geoffrey Braunack.
Meiers is accused of taping Braunack's mouth shut and using rope, tape and a dog chain to tether him to a concrete post on their patio in Beerburrum, near Brisbane in Queensland state. Prosecutors say Meiers left Braunack alone while she took a shower and returned later to find him not moving.
Paramedics were unable to revive him.
Police official Joanne Moore testified that Meiers told her Braunack had pestered her to tie him up, but that she'd resisted at first because she was uncomfortable with bondage.
Defense lawyer Peter Goodwin told the court it was simply a case of "bondage gone wrong."
"There was nothing to suggest he was forced into a position and bound," he said.
Under Australian law, manslaughter carries a maximum penalty of life in prison.
