KEY POINTS:
The trial of the man accused of murdering a German hitchhiker in the Taranaki bush begins in the High Court at New Plymouth today.
Michael Scott Wallace is accused of murdering Birgit Brauer, 28, in Lucys Gully at Oakura, southwest of New Plymouth, on September 20, 2005.
Ms Brauer was beaten about the head with an iron bar, then killed by a stab wound to the heart.
Wallace - who is defending the charge - is alleged to have picked up Ms Brauer as she was hitchiking at Waitotara, north of Wanganui, around September 17.
