She claimed he was in a state of emotional turmoil amid his marriage breaking down and had a tendency to attack women he didn’t know when upset.

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However on Wednesday, Ms Barbagallo conceded the state would no longer be continuing with its ‘emotional upset’ evidence after the defence argued it was inadmissible, meaning Mr Edwards’ alleged motive for the murder falls away.

The ‘Spiers brief’ took a second hit when Justice Stephen Hall indicated he would likely ban the state from submitting evidence to the trial that argued the three women who disappeared from Claremont in the mid-90s were statistically more likely to have been murdered by the same person.

Prosecutors had called three police witnesses and developed a homicide spreadsheet in an attempt to prove statistics indicated the same person killed Ms Spiers, Jane Rimmer and Ciara Glennon.

Defence lawyer Paul Yovich argued the evidence was irrelevant and Justice Hall agreed.

“If two or three people are murdered or go missing over a period of many years in an urban geographical area with a very large population, why is there necessarily any greater likelihood that there is a single perpetrator than multiple perpetrators?” Justice Hall said.

“There may be suspicion in this regard … but suspicion or intelligence is not proof.”

The preliminary ruling stripped the state’s case against Mr Edwards in relation to Ms Spiers down to propensity evidence that whoever murdered Ms Rimmer and Ms Glennon also murdered Ms Spiers.

Its only piece of witness evidence linking Mr Edwards to her murder was a Mosman Park couple who heard screams the night Ms Spiers disappeared and then saw a light-coloured station wagon’s door slam shut and the vehicle drive off.

The car generally matched the description of the white Toyota Camry station wagon Mr Edwards drove for work at the time.

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Ms Barbagallo conceded during her opening address that while the evidence in Ms Spiers case was not strong “in isolation”, it was strengthened by the similarities between the three women’s disappearances.

She listed the location of the abductions; that the women were all last seen standing or walking alone on the periphery of Claremont looking for transport home late at night; the 14-month timeframe in which they were murdered and their similar age and appearance.

“Nearly 22 years have passed since the phrase ‘The Claremont serial killer’ was coined, a reference to the sudden disappearance and wilful murders of three young women,” Ms Barbagallo said.

“Of course, such a phrase means nothing until the state can prove that to Your Honour’s satisfaction beyond reasonable doubt that there was a serial killer at work in the Claremont area.”

The state has also submitted propensity evidence that Mr Edwards had a tendency to attack women he didn’t know, which will be used in relation to Ms Spiers’ case as well as Ms Rimmer’s and Ms Glennon’s.

The evidence relates to a social worker Mr Edwards attacked at Hollywood Hospital in 1990 and his abduction and rape of a 17-year-old girl from Claremont in 1995.

The teenager was walking alone at night away from Club Bayview when she was attacked, which the state also claimed showed Mr Edwards had a tendency to attack women in Claremont at night.

A series of young women also gave evidence during the trial alleging a man in a Telstra vehicle offered them lifts home from areas in the western suburbs in the mid-90s.

The state claims that man was Mr Edwards, although Mr Yovich said the state was drawing a long bow to imply the driver on each occasion was the same person, let alone Mr Edwards.

Mr Edwards was arrested on December 22, 2016 on suspicion of being the Claremont serial killer, however, he made no admissions during his police interview and was subsequently charged with the murders of Ms Rimmer and Ms Glennon only.

Prosecutors allege there is forensic evidence linking Mr Edwards to the two murders, being DNA and fibres for Ms Glennon and fibres for Ms Rimmer.

Mr Edwards was charged with Ms Spiers’ murder in January 2018.

He denies all three murders.

Ms Spiers father, Don Spiers, has regularly attended Mr Edwards’ trial since it commenced in November.

The trial is expected to hear closing submissions from June 8 before Justice Hall retires to reach his verdict.