CCTV cameras captured Kimberley McRae mailing a book to a friend. Photo / Supplied
Warning: Contains reference of sexual violence
They are the haunting last known images of sex worker Kimberley McRae before her death at the hands of a Colombian business student who is now facing years in jail.
McRae’s badly decomposing body was discovered inside her Coogee flat on January 14, 2020 when a concerned relative contacted her real estate agent over growing concerns about her welfare.
Hector Enrique Valencia Valencia, 23, stood trial in the NSW Supreme Court over her killing earlier this month.
He admitted to punching the 69-year-old and during an altercation placing a cord on her neck until she stopped moving, later telling his trial he “probably” watched her die.
During his evidence, Valencia said he had become upset after learning McRae was transgender, and punched her in the face and stomach, initiating the fatal altercation which led to her death.
On Friday, Justice Dina Yehia found Valencia not guilty of murder but guilty of the alternate charge of manslaughter.
She said it had not been proven beyond a reasonable doubt that he intended to kill or cause really serious injury as he wrestled with her inside her darkly lit Mount Street apartment.
HER FINAL MOVEMENTS
The day before she was killed by Valencia and her body left underneath a doona cover, she was captured on CCTV at a Bondi Junction post office.
The images are the last known pictures of the well-known Coogee personality and author.
During her verdict handed down on Friday afternoon, Justice Yehia said while Ms McRae was transgender and a sex worker, no judgement was made about her lifestyle.
“It should be clearly understood that Kimberley McRae was entitled to live her life as she wanted,” Justice Yehia said.
She added Ms McRae had a twin sister, and was a beloved family member and a friend to many.
McRae lived alone at the Mount Street unit and published a memoir under the pen name of Isabella Lawson in December 2018.
She was a self-employed sex worker and advertised her services under the names “Sabrina”, “Samantha”, “Caitlyn” and “Isabella”.
On the afternoon of January 7, 2020, she went to a post office at Bondi Junction to post a book to her friend.
CCTV cameras captured her walking into the store at 4.46pm and speaking to a post office worker before departing.
They are the last known images of her before her death about 24 hours later.
“CAN I TOUCH YOU DOWN THERE?”
Hector Enrique Valencia Valencia arrived in Australia on a student visa in May 2019.
While in Australia he rented a room at a townhouse in Matraville for $200 a week, worked at a Little Bay cafe and attended a business college two evenings a week.
On the afternoon of January 8, 2020, Valencia texted McRae after seeing one of her advertisements on an online classifieds website.
In her advertisement, McRae did not state that she was transgender and described herself as a 38-year-old “blonde Australian busty MILF with G-Cup breasts”.
“Hmmm im (sic) sorry but I want to do oral sex :(.... Let me think,” Valencia wrote to her at 2.49pm.
After asking for a pic, he wrote six minutes later: “Ok ok I agree. Kust (sic) last question. Can I touch you down there?”
After being given McRae’s address, he was told to call her when he arrived.
The last outgoing call on McRae’s phone was to Valencia’s number at 3.35pm and he left her home at 4.15pm.
ANGER AND PANIC
What happened inside McRae’s Mount Street apartment in those 40 minutes has been pieced together through both forensic and Valencia’s evidence.
The court heard McRae’s apartment was kept dark - she had blackout curtains and her light switches were covered in duct tape.
After arriving, he was told to go into the bedroom, get naked, and lie on the bed.
He paid McRae $100 for oral sex and afterwards became “suspicious” about her gender.
He repeatedly asked her about her gender and after asking her in a raised voice, she said that she was transgender.
Valencia said during his testimony that he became “upset” because it was against his religious beliefs.
“He agreed in cross examination that when he found out Kimberley McRae was transgender that he was angry,” Justice Yehia said.
“Fuelled by that anger, he punched her in the stomach and face.”
McRae armed herself with a nearby lamp and struck Valencia on the shoulder and they fell to the floor as they wrestled for control of the object.
Valencia said at this moment he was “scared” that she would choke him and during the altercation, he took the cord of the lamp with both hands and pressed it down on her neck.
In his evidence, Valencia said he “probably” watched her die and held the cord over her neck for “a few seconds”.
“I THREW MY LIFE AWAY DUDE”
When Valencia returned home after classes, he told his landlord he had been out looking for jobs.
The next day he sold his scooter via Facebook marketplace for $2000.
On January 10, he used his landlord’s stolen credit card to book a flight back to Colombia for $2100 however missed his flight.
At a Flight Centre at Sydney airport he booked another one-way ticket for the next day and took a multi-stop flight to Bogota.
Before he departed, he had a conversation with a friend via Facebook messenger, according to the statement of agreed facts.
“Dude you are one of the few I can trust,” Valencia said.
“And the truth is that tomorrow I am travelling to Colombia.
“I was going to travel today but I lost my flight and before that I dropped some nuggets.”
The friend replied: “Uff… Sudden change?”
Valencia’s reply said: “I threw my life away dude. I am escaping because I do not want to finish in jail in Australia.”
He added that he was “desperate and wanted to die” and was “still in shock”.
When his friend asked what he had done, he wrote: “It is that I die of shame to tell this to anybody.”
“I believe I killed a whore,” he confessed.
He added that he needed to flee to Colombia “before they catch me” and that “I am not able to face my family after this.”
“I hope to see you one day… I do not know what I did with my life.”
Valencia flew out of Sydney on LATAM Airlines flight LA802 at 10.18am on January 11.
“I COULD ONLY SEE A FOOT”
Over the coming days, Kimberley McRae’s family and friends became increasingly worried as they were unable to contact her.
Her twin sister contacted her real estate agent and two female property managers went to the Mount Street unit about 10am and found her front door unlocked.
“I could only see a foot, it was black and there was a blanket covering. I don’t think I can go back in there,” one of the women said during a frantic triple-0 call.
“I don’t think she was awake. I think it’s been some time. There’s a smell.”
Her body was discovered next to a black lamp, which had a broken cord, and a discarded used condom inside a paper towel nearby.
Three of her phones had been thrown in the toilet by Valencia.
A warrant was issued for Valencia’s arrest in February 2020 and he was arrested a little over a fortnight later in Aruba.
In November that year, he was extradited back to Sydney under police guard.
INTENTION TO KILL
Valencia faced trial in the NSW Supreme Court earlier this month where he pleaded not guilty to murder and guilty to manslaughter, though the plea to the lesser charges was not accepted by prosecutors.
It was not an issue whether he had killed McRae, with the trial focusing on whether he had an “intention” to kill or cause really serious injury when he pressed the cord against her neck.
Judge Yehia said that in the “intervening period” after punching McRae and before pressing the cord on her neck, he was scared and panicked during the struggle.
Justice Yehia said she was satisfied that McRae died due to asphyxiation caused by “neck compression”.
She pointed to several key pieces of forensic evidence in finding Valencia not guilty of murder.
In particular, that a person could be rendered unconscious in a matter of seconds.
As well, the trial heard that McRae underwent surgery to thin her Adam’s apple, which could have made her larynx more vulnerable to fracture.
She added that Valencia’s version of events was not inconsistent with the forensic experts who gave evidence during the trial.
Valencia will return to court in May where he will face a sentence hearing before learning his fate at a later date.
Tamika Chesser allegedly dismembered his body, police are looking for his head.