A close friend of Caroline Byrne's ex-lover has been accused of fabricating evidence about the man accused of her murder.
Ms Byrne, 24, was found dead at the foot of cliffs known as The Gap, in eastern Sydney, in June 1995.
Her boyfriend Gordon Wood is on trial for her murder in the NSW Supreme Court.
Former police officer Steven Duval told the jury that in the months before Ms Byrne's death he had spoken to her at City Gym where she trained and worked as a fitness instructor.
The model and deportment teacher was riding an exercise bike and Mr Duval said they had begun talking about a suspicious fire at business premises belonging to high-profile stockbroker Rene Rivkin.
Wood, who worked as a chauffeur for Mr Rivkin, had interjected from a nearby treadmill, he said.
"He, from my recollection, asked Caroline to stop talking," Mr Duval told the court.
A heated discussion ensued, he said.
"Wood became very annoyed ... and commenced raising his voice towards me," he said.
As they were arguing, Ms Byrne walked away, Mr Duval said.
Under cross-examination by defence barrister Winston Terracini SC, Mr Duval agreed that today was the first time he had claimed that Wood had tried to silence Ms Byrne.
Mr Duval was close friends with Ms Byrne's high school sweetheart, Andrew Blanchette, and Mr Terracini accused him of trying to protect "your mate".
"You have made it up, haven't you?" Mr Terracini asked.
"I beg your pardon!" retorted Mr Duval.
Mr Terracini continued, "You made it up to try and colour your evidence.
He also accused Mr Duval of giving biased evidence about Wood's strength, to support the crown case that he threw Ms Byrne off The Gap.
"Your intention is to try and exaggerate the accused's strength, and weakness of the deceased, because of things that the police have told you," he said.
Mr Duval replied, "I say, that is incorrect."
He also denied trying to minimise Mr Blanchette's strength in his evidence.
The trial is continuing.
