Lawn mowed near dead man, court told

Rex White told the court the property’s resident surprised him while he was working on a car, telling him she had found a body.

A man who mowed lawns near where an allegedly murdered man’s body was found says he noticed ‘‘something that was dead’’, but saw no blood.

The trial of five men accused of murdering Codi Wilkinson continued in the High Court at Palmerston North yesterday, with most evidence about Wilkinson’s body being found.

Wilkinson went missing on September 12, 2019, and his dead body was found at a Bunnythorpe property 15 days later.

The Crown says Quentin Joseph Moananui, Dean Arthur Jennings, Mariota and Jeremiah Su’a and Jason David Signal murdered Wilkinson while kicking him and his friend Kyle Rowe out of the Mongrel Mob.

They deny the murder, kidnapping Wilkinson and Rowe, wounding Rowe with intent to cause grievous bodily harm and participating in an organised criminal group.

Moananui, who is representing himself, was not in court yesterday, with amicus curiae Paul Surridge asking questions for him.

Lee Minhinnick said he did the lawns at the property Wilkinson’s body was found in the day before the discovery.

He noticed a smell like something had died – ‘‘I was born and raised on a farm’’ – but thought nothing of it.

He used a ride-on lawnmower and weed eater, with the job taking about 40 minutes.

He noticed no blood or anything strange apart from a red rag or bandanna he ran over while mowing.

He was approached by Rex White, who lived across the road, when he went back the next day to check the lawns.

White told him a body had been found, so he went to check for himself.

He kept his distance but did not recognise the person, he said.

White told the court the property’s resident surprised him while he was working on a car, telling him she had found a body.

‘‘I walked over there, and there is a body.’’

The body was in an overgrown garden area, White said.

He heard nothing untoward in the weeks leading up to Wilkinson’s body being found and saw no blood in the area.

The trial continues.