The daughter of a woman allegedly murdered inside her waterfront Sydney home has cried in court as she described finding her mother's battered body.
"I knelt down and touched one of her feet ... (it was) very cold to touch," Maha Qidwai said, before composing herself and continuing with her evidence.
The 28-year-old told the Supreme Court on Thursday that she had come home around 2pm on June 15, 2012 to find the gate to the house was open rather than closed.
Once inside, she noticed one of her mother's slip-on shoes was lying in the kitchen while the other was in the next room.
Moments later she discovered her mother's body on the floor near the bed, her face and mouth covered in blood and bruises.
"My mother never walked barefoot," Maha said.
Tradesman Tony Halloun has pleaded not guilty to murdering 65-year-old Shahnaz Qidwai inside her lavish property.
His Supreme Court trial heard that Mrs Qidwai had repeatedly told Maha and daughter-in-law Sumeena she was "not comfortable" with Halloun being in her Henley house.
"She mentioned to me one specific male who was working on the driveway at her property. She said ...'I don't really like having him there'," Sumeena told the court on Thursday.
Mrs Qidwai had also complained about her husband hiring Middle Eastern men as "cheap labour," Sumeena said.
But defence barrister Peter Lange questioned the women's evidence, saying Mrs Qidwai had never made complaints to her family about feeling uneasy while Halloun was inside her house.
Both Sumeena and Maha denied `clarifying' their original police statements only last week to "embellish" evidence against Halloun.
The court also heard that Mrs Qidwai was "very conscious" about security and kept cash, jewellery and other valuables stashed "throughout the house".
Earlier on Thursday the court heard Halloun, whose business was allegedly $97,000 in debt, had come to the family home pleading with Mrs Qidwai's husband, Dr Khalid Qidwai, for money in April 2012.
He initially asked for $200, then begged for $100, Maha said.
"Please, whatever you can give me doctor," she recalled Halloun saying in a "softer voice than normal".
Halloun's legal team accused Maha of making the visit up to further implicate their client.
"You will do whatever it takes to secure the conviction of the person you think is responsible for your mother's death," the prosecution said.
Maha said it was up to the court to decide who's responsible.
It is alleged that at the time of the murder, Halloun also stole thousands of dollars in cash from the Qidwai's home.
The trial continues.
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