The man who tried to help Ben Roberts-Smith’s “mistress” out of a glitzy Canberra event has told a court he watched her drunkenly tumble down a staircase, striking her head and leaving a terrible bruise.
The woman known only as Person 17 now claims her head injury was caused by Mr Roberts-Smith punching her in the face for embarrassing him at the event - a claim the elite soldier denies.
Mr Roberts-Smith is suing Nine newspapers over a series of articles alleging he is a war criminal, bully and domestic violence abuser.
Nine’s allegations of abuse, which the newspapers insist are true, can be traced back to the end of Mr Roberts-Smith’s marriage.
Mr Roberts-Smith has told the court he was separated from his wife, Emma Roberts, when he struck up a relationship with Person 17, a married woman.
Person 17 and Ms Roberts have both told the court they believe the relationship took place while Mr Roberts-Smith’s marriage was still on foot.
Either way, Mr Roberts-Smith and Person 17 had a volatile relationship which included allegations of a fake pregnancy, a fake abortion and secret rendezvous at glamorous parties and hotels.
Among them was a black tie veterans event at Parliament House in Canberra at the invitation of then-Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull in early 2018.
The court has heard Person 17 was seated at a table away from Mr Roberts-Smith and got drunk before potentially revealing their affair to military dignitaries.
Mr Roberts-Smith left to arrange a car before Person 17 followed, the court has heard.
A former soldier and defence industry executive, Terry Nichols, appeared as a witness in the Federal Court defamation trial on Friday where he said Person 17 approached him.
“She was unsteady and quite slurred in her speech,” Mr Nichols said.
“At the time I was concerned she wouldn’t be able to meet up with Mr Roberts-Smith safely.”
Mr Nichols said he escorted Person 17 out toward the staircase down to the transport, where Mr Roberts-Smith was headed, and asked her to wait while he called the elevator.
But, he said, Person 17 declined and began walking down the stairs herself.
“She was halfway down… and she lost her balance and fell forward onto the stairs and down to the bottom of the platform,” Mr Nichols said.
“She landed forward and on her left side of the front of her body, headfirst down the stairs, feet up the stairs.”
Mr Nichols said she had fallen at least six stairs and made a “terrible thud” on the solid landing below.
The businessman told the court he rushed down to help Person 17 and helped her to her feet where he saw a large haematoma above her left eye.
“It was like a large egg, half an egg on this part of the forehead,” he told the court.
Mr Nichols said he asked others to help Person 17 before he went to get Mr Roberts-Smith.
Nine’s legal team did not cross examine Mr Nichols on his evidence or challenge his version of events.
Person 17, in her own evidence, told the court she fell down the stairs before leaving with Mr Roberts-Smith.
Back at the hotel, Person 17 told the court, Mr Roberts-Smith was furious she could have exposed their affair.
“He said ‘I let you into my world, I trusted you, and you treated it like a high school formal’,” she told the court.
“I was saying I was sorry, I knew I had behaved badly at the function, I knew that I was drunk.”
Person 17 sobbed as she told the court Mr Roberts-Smith punched her in the face and she fell backward onto the bed.
“When I said my head was hurting he said something like ‘it’s going to f***ing hurt more’ or ‘I’ll show you hurting’ or something,” Person 17 said.
Mr Roberts-Smith denied in evidence that he ever struck Person 17 and he abhors domestic violence.
“I find it a disgusting act of cowardice,” he said last year.
When Person 17 arrived at her lover’s marital home to reveal the affair she blamed the staircase for her black eye, Ms Roberts told the court in evidence.
“What happened to your face?” Ms Roberts said she asked.
“I fell down drunk, a set of stairs at Parliament House,” Person 17 responded, the court heard.
Under cross examination Person 17 told the court there was no injury to the area above her left eye following the fall.
That evidence has now been directly contradicted by Mr Nichols.
The trial continues.
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