In the aftermath of tragedy: the court cases to watch in 2024

However, there is no crystal ball when it comes to court and cases are subject to the ever shifting sand of adjournments, delays, and everything in between.

Some cases may take years to go through the court system, as the saying goes: "The wheels of justice turn slowly."

But this year is set to see many pressing questions answered in the capital's most perplexing, heartbreaking and divisive court cases.

Here are cases to watch in 2024.

Why did Donald Morley murder his "darling" wife of 69 years?

Where will the court order Morley, a frail 92-year-old, serve his sentence? Is Canberra's jail equipped to care for him?

These questions may be answered in 2024 as the ACT Supreme Court is scheduled to start sentencing proceedings in April.

The heartbreaking crime shocked the Canberra community in August, when a nurse discovered the body of Jean Morley, also aged 92.

Mrs Morley, who had dementia, was found at the couple's Fisher home where they had lived for more than 45 years.

In what police claim was a suicide note, Morley is said to have written: "After 69 years married, we were both afraid of the future."

"Please don't call this 'murder'-suicide," he allegedly said in the note.

"Sorry to upset all our family and friends. This wasn't easy for me, especially my darling."

Last time the matter was in court, Morley, who had bandages around his head, remained seated when he pleaded guilty to murder.

He is currently being held at North Canberra Hospital's older persons mental health unit.

Morley is believed to be the oldest person in the ACT to ever be charged with murder.

More than two-a-half years ago, Glenn Walewicz was shot dead in the doorway of his Phillip unit in a case of mistaken identity.

This year, the architect of the botched home invasion attempt, Nicole Williams, is set to learn her fate.

The shooter, who was aged 17 at the time and cannot be named due to his age, is also set to be sentenced in the coming months.

These final sentencings are set to bring an end to court proceedings following the death of the innocent man, who answered a knock on his door only to be met with the barrel of a gun.

Williams sent a group of three assailants, including a 12-year-old boy, to steal money and drugs from a different home in the same complex, but the would-be home invaders went to the wrong address.

The intended targets were two known drug-dealers, who owed her money.

The 17-year-old would ultimately kill Mr Walewicz, 48, with a single shot to the neck.

What really motivated military whistleblower David McBride to steal and leak classified documents?

Will the court show leniency in sentencing and take into account the public interest?

What will this mean for whistleblowers going forward?

McBride is set to learn his fate this year, after much publicised, protracted legal proceedings.

It is set to bring to an end years of debate, politics and calls to discontinue the charges against the former military lawyer.

McBride has pleaded guilty to charges that relate to the theft and disclosure to journalists of classified documents, which detailed alleged misconduct by Australian troops in Afghanistan.

He was originally set to face a jury trial, but pleaded guilty after a blow to his defence in November last year.

The court had ruled certain classified documents, key to the defence case, could not be used as evidence due to pubic interest immunity.

Lawyers for McBride previously told the court he leaked the documents to journalists as he was concerned about what he believed was the "over-investigation" of troops.

A later inquiry, commonly known as the Brereton Report, uncovered credible information of 23 incidents of potential war crimes, which involved the killing of 39 Afghans and cruel treatment of two more between 2005 and 2016.

The question of whether Shakira May Adams, accused of killing a Canberra student in a crash, is fit to plead may be answered in the coming week.

Adams is accused of killing 20-year-old Matthew McLuckie when she allegedly crashed head-on into his vehicle in May 2022.

She is yet to enter pleas to five charges, including manslaughter and culpable driving causing death.

The case so far has centred around whether Adams, who suffered a traumatic brain injury as a result of the crash, is fit to plead and potentially stand trial.

Chief Justice Lucy McCallum is set to hand-down her decision on Friday.

Last year, the Chief Justice was "not persuaded" by two psychiatric reports and adjourned the case for lawyers to gather more evidence.

The court may provide at least some answers in relation to highly-publicised defamation proceedings brought forward by Bruce Lehrmann.

While Justice Michael Lee has reserved his decision until an unknown date, it is likely the outcome will be handed down this year.

Mr Lehrmann is suing Network Ten and Lisa Wilkinson over a 2021 The Project story which he claims identified him as the man who raped Brittany Higgins inside Parliament House.

But the trial's result may not be as black and white as the public expects.

The judge could rule on a number of things, including what occurred in the early hours of March 23, 2019, journalistic professionalism, damages, and witness reliability.

Late last year, the Federal Court heard a month's worth of evidence, including emotional, combative, multi-day testimonies from Mr Lehrmann, Ms Higgins and Ms Wilkinson.

While Mr Lehrmann claimed his reputation was ruined by the broadcast, the television network has argued it acted reasonably, in the public interest and that the allegation was substantially true.

Both Mr Lehrmann and Ms Higgins came out of the publicly streamed trial with credibility issues and the judge will be required to go through weeks of testimony, and countless documents and recordings, with a fine tooth comb.

Mr Lehrmann has always denied raping Ms Higgins. The charge levelled at him was dropped following an aborted ACT criminal trial.

Last year, police announced a breakthrough in one of Canberra's oldest cold cases, the alleged murder of 78-year-old grandmother Irma Palasics 25 years ago.

The hunt for two men who broke into the Palasics' home in 1999, brutally bashing Mrs Palasics, and her husband Gregor, has been one of Canberra's longest-running police investigations.

The elderly couple were bound with cable ties and are said to have been viciously beaten as the men ransacked the house for two hours, stealing $30,000 worth of cash and jewellery.

Mrs Palasics did not survive her injuries and died at the scene.

Melbourne men, Joseph Vekony and Steve Fabriczy, both 68, were charged with her murder late last year after breakthrough developments in DNA testing.

While Vekony has pleaded not guilty, the other man is yet to enter a plea.

This year Fabriczy may be required to plead one way or another.

The court may hear more details in the case of Alex Ophel, 24, who is accused of attempting to murder two women at the Australian National University.

Last time the case was in the ACT Magistrates Court, Ophel's lawyer flagged it may be "heading towards mental impairment issues".

Next week the results of a mental health assessment may be presented to the court.

However, this may take longer than expected.

Police allege Ophel initially hit a male student at the university campus over the head with a frying pan one afternoon in September 2023.

That student is said to have run away before Ophel allegedly stabbed a 20-year-old female student "multiple times".

He is then accused of chasing a second 20-year-old female student and stabbing her as well.

An ACT government investigation into the incident by the Chief Psychiatrist, separate to court proceedings, is also expected to be handed down in February.

Court proceedings for a man accused of fatally stabbing a woman in Bruce is only in its very early stages and more questions than answers remain.

Van Thanh Vu, 71, has denied killing Thi Thuy Huong Nguyen, 65, at a home on Kinloch Circuit, Bruce, in October.

Due to Vu's plea of not guilty to a charge of murder, a brief of evidence will need to be prepared which may take some time due to the complexities of the case.

Police have previously said the couple lived together in the house for a long time but have yet to divulge the exact nature of the relationship.

A chef at the National Zoo and Aquarium in Canberra is accused of murdering his co-worker after a body was found in a storeroom in the kitchen area in December last year.

Jude Wijesinghe, from Oaks Estate, has pleaded not guilty to murder. The victim has been named as Tshewang Choden. She is a citizen of Bhutan.

There is still a long way to go with the case only coming to court for the first time last month, but it is likely more details of the allegations will be released throughout the year.

Police have previously said there were no direct witnesses to the alleged incident, which happened around lunchtime, but "loud screams" were heard from the area.