The widow of a Brisbane businessman found dead in an escort's Far North Queensland hotel room has given evidence in court about the last conversation they had.
Anthony Brady, 52, is alleged to have died at the Sunshine Tower Hotel in Cairns where he had arranged to meet sex worker Madeleine Joan Lewin.
Ms Lewin, 34, is standing trial for manslaughter.
The Supreme Court has heard the pair met consensually on the evening of August 12, 2020.
Mr Brady had been due to fly home to Brisbane the following day and the court heard he had reminded his wife, Kartika Sadan Kumar, that she would need to pick him up from the airport.
Brady 'sounded tired'
An emotional Ms Kumar took the witness stand for a few minutes on Wednesday, recounting a phone call they'd had for about five or six minutes just before 9pm on the evening he died.
"He sounded very tired after a long day at work," she told the court.
The following afternoon, Ms Kumar received a phone call from one of her husband's work colleagues who asked if she had heard from him.
"They asked me not to panic but he hadn't shown up to his appointments and it sort of escalated from there," Ms Kumar told the court.
Her attempts to reach him by phone were unsuccessful.
"There has never been a time he has not returned my call," Ms Kumar told the court.
"He always, always calls me back."
It is alleged Mr Brady died from mechanical asphyxiation while taking part in a bondage-type sexual activity with Ms Lewin in her hotel room.
Crown prosecutor Nathan Crane asked Ms Kumar whether Mr Brady had ever asked her "to do anything out of the ordinary" when it came to sex.
"No, never," she replied.
Another prosecution witness, Julie-Anne Weller, told the court Ms Lewin had turned up at her home shortly after midnight that same evening.
Ms Weller had only struck up a friendship with Ms Lewin, whom she called "MJ", on a bus a few weeks earlier.
Ms Weller said Ms Lewin's behaviour that night was erratic.
"She was calling out, jumping around the house doing roundhouse kicks like karate and saying 'Woo hoo', 'MJ's in the house'," Ms Weller said.
"I didn't know what was going on."
Ms Weller said Ms Lewin also flashed some money she claimed she had got from a "dirty old bastard".
"Her pupils were dilated, like thick as dinner plates — really big," Ms Weller told the court.
"And she said she'd been smoking ice."
The following day, they went shopping together and had lunch at an Esplanade restaurant.
'Nothing like 50 Shades'
The court also heard evidence from an expert in psychotherapy with extensive experience working with members of the BDSM community.
Gavi Ansara told the court those who took part in erotic asphyxiation or "breath play" needed to know what they were doing as it was "very, very easy to do a lot of damage".
"You can't really take your eyes off that situation," Dr Ansara said.
"You really have to be attentive and ready to jump in."
The court was told it was common for those who took part in BDSM activities to take stringent safety precautions and have qualifications in first aid and resuscitation.
The Crown alleges Ms Lewin did not have the required skill or take reasonable care to ensure the safety of Mr Brady, who was found bound and gagged.
Dr Ansara said the use of ropes and bindings among the BDSM community was "nothing like [the film] 50 Shades of Grey".
"The community said if anyone did what [character] Christian Grey did, it would be considered abuse and he would be kicked out of the community," he said.
The trial, before Justice James Henry, continues.
