‘No indications something bad had gone down’
CO-ACCUSED Liam Bliss said he was asked by Lionel Patea to come to his house on July 6, 2015, “as he needed my help with something. He said he would give me some money if I could (help) him out as someone owed him some money”.
“When I got there I saw Lionel, Nelson and Tara Brown. Tara made us a sandwich and after having that Lionel said ‘let’s go’. Tara gave me the keys to her grey Mazda2 and told me not to let Lionel drive,” Bliss said in a statement to police.
“Before we left, Lionel said something like ‘I might have to smoke this (expletive)’, so just watch over me. If there’s a passenger in his car, just keep an eye on him’.”
Bliss told police he did not know the person “assaulted up there that night” and he remained mystified why Patea had never provided him with background information about the incident “as a heads-up”.
After driving up to the Hinterland, “Lionel told me to pull over … It was really dark … There was no one else there … and we all got out of the car. I had a smoke and stayed by the driver’s door.
“One of them opened the boot of the car … I think they got a bag out of the boot.
“As I was about to finish my smoke, I saw a car drive up the hill and stop just in behind my car. I’m not sure what type of car it was but it was a big car that was a grey or brown kind of colour. Following the car was a big white truck that parked in behind the other car.
“As the car and truck stopped I saw the driver’s door of the car open and someone got out. It was dark and I couldn’t see properly but the person looked big … it appeared as though Lionel knew this person from the way they interacted.
“… Both doors on the truck opened talking.
“They all walked to the left side of the truck and I couldn’t see what they were doing … I stayed with the car and sat back in the driver’s seat.
“… Not long after, maybe two to five minutes later, Lionel, Nelson and (the other man from the Mazda) came back to the car and I think something was put into the boot but I’m not sure what it was, maybe a bag.
“Lionel sat back in the front passenger seat and I noticed that he had blood on his right and I heard people hand on the fleshy part near his little finger. I remember saying something like ‘what happened?’ and Lionel said ‘nothing’. Nelson sat back in the seat behind me.
“Lionel told me to drive, so I did. He didn’t give any indications that something bad had gone down, he was fine. Nelson and (the other man) didn’t say anything either.
“They were all fine and didn’t make mention that they had assaulted anyone. We were all singing and talking in the car on the way back to Lionel’s.”