<div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>Wild claims about curses and witchcraft, amid a raging argument over designer bags and stolen money, led to a nurse's stabbing murder, a </span><a href="https://www.9news.com.au/law" rel="" target="" title="judge"><span>judge</span></a><span> has heard.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>Erin Mullavey, 42, was found dead by her husband Nicholas Gilbert late at night on Easter Sunday 2023 in her western </span><a href="https://www.9news.com.au/sydney" rel="" target="" title="Sydney"><span>Sydney</span></a><span> apartment.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>The husband's childhood friend, Morten Birkegaard Jensen, was arrested four months later and faced a </span><a href="https://www.9news.com.au/new-south-wales" rel="" target="" title="NSW"><span>NSW</span></a><span> Supreme Court murder trial today.</span></div></div><div><div id="adspot-mobile-medium"></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><strong><span>READ MORE:</span></strong><span> </span><a href="https://www.9news.com.au/national/north-ryde-kidnapping-sydney-chris-baghsarian-police/3cb2fb83-2b2b-4eda-b451-4bcb90ef4480" target="_blank"><strong><span>'Distressing' video of kidnapped Sydney grandfather seen by police</span></strong></a></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><strong><span>READ MORE:</span></strong><span> </span><a href="https://www.9news.com.au/national/dannielle-finlay-jones-much-loved-teachers-death-to-be-probed-years-later-sydney-nsw-court-news/8334b885-320c-42d6-9e61-8d97aea63a1e"><strong><span>Search for answers years after 'much-loved' teacher's suspected murder</span></strong></a><span></span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>Prosecutor Monika Knowles said 35-year-old Jensen had been friends with Gilbert since the two men were children.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>Hours before he killed Mullavey, Jensen was seen paranoid and agitated at a friend's place, speaking about witchcraft and a Nigerian witch doctor, Knowles said.</span></div></div><div><div class="OUTBRAIN" data-reactroot="" data-src="//www.9news.com.au/national/morten-birkegaard-jense-court-updates-killers-curse-claim-before-nurse-stabbed-in-western-sydney-apartment/33ed8fb3-d1d0-4d9e-b58c-6c4beecd779a" data-widget-id="AR_5"></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>"The accused said someone close to him had placed a curse on him," she told Justice Phillip Boulten as the judge-alone trial began.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>Jensen was again agitated that afternoon at Gilbert's home when Mullavey called him homosexual and suggested he performed sexual acts for drugs.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>That evening while at home, he was told Gilbert or Mullavey had sent his female friend threatening messages claiming she had stolen designer bags and $20,000 in cash.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>The threat related to an incident when the couple sought a buyer for some bags they had stumbled upon.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><strong><span>WATCH:</span></strong><span> </span><a href="https://www.nine.com.au/sport/golf/pebble-beach-pro-am-2026-colin-morikawa-min-woo-lee-prize-money-results-18th-hole-shot-reaction-20260216-p5o2mz.html" target="_blank"><strong><span>Aussie's priceless reaction as $5 million win ripped away</span></strong></a></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><strong><span>LATEST:</span></strong><span> </span><a href="https://www.9news.com.au/national/gus-lamont-update-police-return-to-oak-park-station-in-search-for-missing-boy/7d48bf8c-b1ca-4050-ab06-1cf99fc3abd1" target="_blank"><strong><span>Police launch renewed search for missing boy Gus Lamont</span></strong></a></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>A buyer was not found, the bags disappeared and either Mullavey or her husband used their shared phone to send threatening texts to the woman, who cannot be legally named.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>Jensen was in custody at the time.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>After learning about the dispute on Easter Sunday, the 35-year-old rode his bike to the nurse's </span><a href="https://www.9news.com.au/sydney" rel="" target="" title="Merrylands"><span>Merrylands</span></a><span> home to kill her, the court was told.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>"Going to fix this now," he texted the woman.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>There was no dispute Jensen stabbed Mullavey that night, Knowles told the court.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>He switched clothes and took a train to a friend's place in </span><a href="https://www.9news.com.au/sydney" rel="" target="" title="Sydney"><span>Sydney</span></a><span>'s Northern Beaches where he stayed the night.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>Eight days later, he admitted he had killed Mullavey.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><strong><span>NATIONAL:</span></strong><span> </span><a href="https://www.9news.com.au/national/heavy-rain-to-soak-multiple-states-northern-australia/730f950c-9898-4e2e-9f07-99bc1cf817ba" target="_blank"><strong><span>Half of Australia set for major soaking, millions warned</span></strong></a></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><strong><span>READ MORE:</span></strong><span> </span><a href="https://www.9news.com.au/national/star-casino-pyrmont-man-charged-over-allegedly-damaging-35-cars-sydney/7a1b4b5a-15d3-4fb4-ac8d-264ffdf68cdc"><strong><span>Man 'armed with traffic cone' causes $100K in damage to cars inside Sydney casino</span></strong></a><span></span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>"She was bad, she was putting spells on us, I had to do it," he told his female friend.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>"The universe told me to do it."</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>Jensen, whose neck tattoos showed above his prison-issued green top during the trial, pleaded not guilty to murder due to a claimed mental health impairment.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>Two psychiatrists agree he was experiencing a psychotic event at the time, with one diagnosing the 35-year-old with schizophrenia and the other with drug-induced psychosis.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>Public defender Tom Quilter SC urged Justice Boulten to agree with the psychiatrists and find his client not guilty.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>Knowles pressed a different finding, saying Jensen's beliefs in witchcraft and conspiracy theories could be cultural rather than due to mental health.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>The 35-year-old's conduct after the killing, including by lying and covering up what he did, showed he knew what he had done was wrong, she said.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>Another option available to Justice Boulten is finding Jensen guilty of the lesser charge of manslaughter due to a mental health condition substantially impairing his thinking.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>The trial continues.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><strong><em><span>NEVER MISS A STORY:</span></em></strong><span> </span><em><span>Get your breaking news and exclusive stories first by following us across all platforms.</span></em></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><ul><li><strong><em><span>Download the 9NEWS App here via</span></em></strong><span> </span><a href="https://apps.apple.com/au/app/9news/id1010533727" target="_blank" title=""><strong><em><span>Apple</span></em></strong></a><span> </span><strong><em><span>and</span></em></strong><span> </span><a href="https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=nineNewsAlerts.nine.com&amp;hl=en_AU&amp;pli=1" target="_blank"><strong><em><span>Google Play</span></em></strong></a></li><li><strong><em><span>Make 9News your preferred source on Google by</span></em></strong><span> </span><a href="https://9.nine.com.au/8x987w" target="_blank"><strong><em><span>ticking this box here</span></em></strong></a></li><li><strong><em><span>Sign up to</span></em></strong><span> </span><a href="https://login.nine.com.au/edm?client_id=nineatnine" target="_blank"><strong><em><span>our breaking newsletter here</span></em></strong></a></li></ul></div></div>