The home's large electric gates stood wide open and there were several black footprints around the front door and the entry to the garage.

Sitting in the NSW Supreme Court witness box on Thursday, Dr Qidwai described how, upon entering the three-storey house, she found one of her mother's light brown slippers on the floor near the fridge and the other lying metres away.

The 28-year-old called out her mother's name and, hearing nothing, noticed that her bedroom door was open.

The young doctor could barely speak when asked about the sight that met her eyes when she went inside – her mother's body, lying bleeding on the floor.

"I knelt down and touched one of her feet; it was cold to the touch," Dr Qidwai said crying.

Sitting about five metres away in the courtroom's dock sat Tony Halloun.

The Sydney tradesman is accused of murdering Dr Qidwai's 65-year-old mother, Shahnaz Qidwai, in her Henley home where he had been employed to undertake concreting works in early 2012.

The court has previously heard that Mr Halloun's business was in the red to the tune of $97,000 at the time of the killing and that he had argued heatedly with Mrs Qidwai's husband, Khalid, the day before the alleged murder, telling him: "I will win in the end."

On Thursday, Maha Qidwai said that, before the killing, her mother had said she did not like Mr Halloun being around.

"She mentioned several times that she didn't find him very trustworthy and he seemed to frequently visit the toilet, sometimes for up to 20 minutes at a time," the young woman said.

Dr Qidwai had reportedly seen the tradesman inside the main house on about 10 occasions, including several instances when he allegedly asked questions about her work schedule.

Mr Halloun also allegedly made several unscheduled visits to the home, including one in which he allegedly begged Mr Qidwai for money.

But counsel for Mr Halloun, Peter Lange, put it to Dr Qidwai that several conversations she had given evidence about involving Mr Halloun had never occurred, and that she had embellished her evidence to make the tradesman appear guilty.

"I suggest to you that you will do whatever it takes to secure the conviction of the person who was responsible," Mr Lange said.

"I think that would be the case for anyone in my situation," Dr Qidwai responded.

The court heard that Dr Qidwai has not returned to the Henley mansion since her mother's death.

The trial continues.