Reason: the murder case of a teenager for 22 years has been suspended

The long-awaited trial of a couple accused of murdering teenager Amber Haigh has been delayed after one of the accused was hospitalized with pneumonia, a court has heard.

Robert Samuel Geeves, 64, and Anne Margaret Geeves, 63, were due to face a judge-alone trial in the NSW Supreme Court after being charged with Ms Haigh's murder.

Both pleaded not guilty and the trial was due to begin on Monday – more than 22 years after Ms Haigh disappeared.

However, at the eleventh hour, Ms Geeves was not present at Wagga Wagga court on Monday morning, where the trial is being held before Justice Julia Lonergan.

Judge Lonergan told the court that just minutes before the trial began, at 10am, his office received an email saying Ms Geeves was unwell and was in Silverwater Correctional Center Hospital, where she is being held in pre-trial detention.

She said an email was sent to her office Friday afternoon, but it did not arrive because it was incorrectly addressed.

“The first thing we heard about this issue was five to ten,” Judge Lonergan said.

Neither Ms Geeves' lawyer nor the Crown prosecutor were informed of the problem, the court was told.

Ms Geeves had been battling bacterial pneumonia and had been diagnosed with respiratory syncytial virus, the court heard.

Judge Lonergan said Ms Geeves had recently been admitted to Westmead Hospital and was discharged last Thursday.

But she was still ill and isolated at Silverwater Correctional Centre.

Although a medical certificate submitted to Judge Lonergan's chambers indicates Ms Geeves would not be fit to appear in court until Friday, it is unclear whether she will be well enough for the trial to resume this week.

The case will return to court on Thursday, with a view to resuming trial on Friday, depending on whether Ms Geeves is well enough.

The couple told police they dropped Ms Haigh off at Campbelltown train station on June 5, 2002.

She was reported missing two weeks later when she failed to return to her Kingsvale home.

Police arrested the couple at a house in Harden, regional New South Wales, in May 2022.