Teen alleged she was groped by doctor while asleep

Slain Dunedin teenager AmberRose Rush allegedly told a witness of waking up with her bra off and Venod Skantha with his hands down her pants.

The witness, who has name suppression, told the High Court in Dunedin yesterday that the Dunedin doctor was ‘‘fascinated’ with 16-year-old Amber-Rose, who was found dead in her Dunedin home in February last year.

Skantha, 32, has pleaded not guilty to murdering Amber-Rose.

Weeks before the teen’s death, an incident allegedly took place at the doctor’s Fairfield home on January 3, 2018. The witness left the property with Amber-Rose asleep on a couch with Skantha and another friend, a man.

The next day his former school friend messaged him to say she woke up with her bra off and Skantha’s hand down her pants.

Amber-Rose told the witness she had asked her mother to pick her up from the address. Four days later, Amber-Rose told him

Skantha had offered her money for sex. The offer started at $2000 and went up to $20,000. ‘‘She ended up slapping him in the face,’’ he told the court. ‘‘I’m never going near him again,’’ Amber-Rose messaged him that night. The witness also recalled another time at Skantha’s home when the doctor showed off a machete, boasting he could cut someone’s head off. While he downplayed that recollection, he recalled Skantha as being ‘‘creepy and weird’’ towards Amber-Rose.

He conceded to defence counsel Jonathan Eaton QC that Skantha was ‘‘fascinated’’ with Amber-Rose, which was perhaps more apt than saying ‘‘creepy and weird’’.

The trial continues.