Mario Santoro left Sydney and flew to Brazil hours after Cecilia Haddad's body was spotted by kayakers floating in Lane Cove River.
At first, NSW Police said the 38-year-old Brazilian businesswoman's death wasn't suspicious.
But days later, following the discovery of her abandoned red Fiat car at West Ryde train station, and with detectives learning she'd missed a string of appointments, a murder investigation was launched in April 2018.
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That shift in focus triggered an international manhunt, stretching from Sydney to Rio de Janeiro, high-level negotiations involving Interpol and Australian and Brazilian officials and ended with the arrest of Santoro, three months after he'd landed at Rio's airport.
Santoro, Haddad's ex-boyfriend, was charged with her murder.
Police alleged Santoro, 44, strangled Haddad and dumped her body in a river, eight kilometres from her Ryde apartment.
"It's been five very difficult years," Joao Muller Haddad, Cecilia's brother, told 9News on the eve of a murder trial which was due to begin in Rio today but got temporarily derailed.
On entering court, flanked by armed guards and wearing a white t-shirt and blue trousers, Santoro sensationally informed the judge that he'd dumped his defence team.
Prosecutors and the small team of NSW detectives who had flown 14,000km from Sydney to give evidence were stunned by the unexpected revelation.
The trial could now be suspended for several months.
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"We miss her so much," Muller Haddad said.
He said his sister's death had "completely devastated" the family.
Haddad had moved to Australia more than a decade ago, first living in Perth.
In 2016 she relocated to Sydney where she worked in mining and logistics.
Police allege Santoro strangled Haddad to death in the kitchen of her apartment, and that the next morning he fled to his hometown of Rio.
Months later, local police swooped on Santoro at his sister's apartment.
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Santoro has been locked up in one of Brazil's most brutal prison since.
If convicted, he faces a 30-year sentence but will serve no time in Australia, as Brazil does not extradite its citizens.
Haddad and Santoro had attended university together in Brazil and been friends for 10 years.
The pair dated in Sydney but that ended shortly before Santoro allegedly killed Haddad.
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