2.30pm: Mr Byrne told the jury Gerard Baden-Clay and his wife Allison worked together at Flight Centre at the George St office and became friends.
He said they began to date and the accused would tell them there was a “spark” that developed into a long-term relationship.
“He’ll tell you he never really connected with Allison’s family. The next year in 1996, he proposed to her and she accepted,” he said.
Mr Byrne said Baden-Clay started planning a life together with his wife, starting with a lengthy overseas honeymoon.
He said they were married on August 23, 1997 and left the country a week later, visiting Kuala Lumpur, the Maldives, Turkey, Egypt, Spain, Portugal, Morocco and Western Europe.
“They were both high-achievers and very keen of their careers and being involved in their careers,” he said.
He said Ms Baden-Clay worked in London and then obtained voluntary positions at Kandarstang International Scouting Centre in Switzerland from June to September.
Mr Byrne said the pair attended weddings of friends and then decided to travel together to South America.
“Gerard will tell you they attended a traveller’s medical centre to seek advice from the doctor as to what vaccinations would be recommended to that part of the world and one of the drugs or vaccinations to be discussed was anti-malarial medication,” he said.
He said a drug called Lariam was recommended, although it had potential side-effects.
Mr Byrne said the doctor said the side-effects needed only concern those who had a “predisposition” to mental illness or depression and they decided to take the once-a-week tablet.
“Gerard will tell you that trip turned into, for want of a better term, an emotional rollercoaster. The ideal marriage, the ideal honeymoon changed, in that Allison, for the first time that they had been together and for the first time in their life, started to have severe mood swings,” he said.
Mr Byrne said the accused would tell the jury there were days his wife did not leave her room, she was listless and unable to function as the “normal, bouncy Allison self”.
He said they travelled to Switzerland and stayed in the Alps where there was a risk of avalanche due to recent snowfall.
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