One of the two people accused of a $300,000 theft from seniors took to the witness box yesterday before being questioned by his wife.

However, the trial was forced to finish early when she took ill.

Keiva Maronie Durham, 44, had been cross-examining her husband, Jaymo Durham, 52, when she had to sit, complaining that her eyesight had become impaired.

The jury was dismissed at 12.45pm and Puisne Judge Juan Wolffe adjourned matters until Monday morning.

Mr Durham entered the stand for the first time for questioning at the Supreme Court.

Both he and Mrs Durham are representing themselves in the trial where they have been accused of stealing more than $300,000 from four elderly clients, along with making and using false statements between February 23, 2012, and July 31, 2019.

The four alleged victims, all clients of Ageing and Disability Services, are Doreen Stevens, Nancy Locke and Muriel and Loretta Smith.

The Durhams deny all charges.

Mr Durham took to the stand at 11.20am and confirmed to the court that he was an attorney and a director in the Amicus law firm.

Mrs Durham quizzed him on details of Ms Stevens’s bank account and asked about his relationship with her. Ms Stevens had earlier been revealed to be his godmother.

He said: “My mother took me regularly to see her and she always remembered my birthday and gave me presents.

“My mother always reminded of how generous Ms Stevens was to me.

“Prior to our relationship, when I first came out of university, my then girlfriend came to visit me and Ms Stevens allowed us to stay in her guest apartment above her restaurant free of charge and took us sightseeing and had not thought of charging me anything for the accommodation.”

Mrs Durham then asked him: “Would you say you were a worthwhile person?”

He replied: “I certainly strive to be.”

In earlier proceedings on Thursday, Mrs Durham and former policeman Jeffrey Blair clashed as she questioned his investigation into the Durhams, telling him that it could not be complete or thorough if he did not have the required documents directly from the persons involved.

Mr Blair said that “the evidence that’s here today speaks for itself”, adding: “The evidence supports the offences you’ve been charged with.”

Mr Blair spoke up that he was “responding to your questions” when Mrs Durham began to talk over him, prompting Mr Justice Wolffe to intervene.

The trial continues.

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