No defence evidence as murder trial nears end
After nearly a month of evidence, the Crown has concluded its case against five people accused of the murder of Invercargill teenager Jack McAllister.
The Crown closed its case in the High Court at Invercargill yesterday; before lawyers for the defendants told the jury their clients had elected not to give or call evidence.
The Crown lawyers, MaryJane Thomas and/or Riki Donnelly, will give their closing address to the jury today.
Lawyers for the five defendants are expected to begin making their closing statements tomorrow.
When all five are finished, possibly early to mid-next week, Justice Rachel Dunningham will sum up the case before the jury retires to consider its verdicts.
Laura Scheepers, 19, David Wilson, 20, Christopher Brown, 20, Natasha Ruffell, 27, and a 24-year-old woman with name suppression are on trial for McAllister’s murder.
Two other people, Brayden Whiting-Roff and a female teen with name suppression, have already pleaded guilty to murder.
McAllister, 19, was lured to near the ILT Stadium Southland on the promise of sex from Scheepers on June 7, 2017.
After McAllister, also known as Jade Fearn, arrived at the stadium he was stabbed 14 times by Whiting-Roff and died early the next morning in Southland Hospital.
Stab wounds were found in parts of McAllister’s body including back, chest, hip, shoulder and arm.
‘‘She did not perceive murder as a probable consequence of what she agreed to.’’ Peter Redpath, lawyer for Laura Scheepers, 19, pictured below.
None of the five defendants on trial are accused of physically causing McAllister’s death, but they are alleged to have arranged, encouraged or otherwise been party to the stabbing at Stadium Southland.
Crown lawyer Riki Donnelly, in his opening address in early August, said all five defendants played a part in McAllister’s death, including by luring him to the stadium and lulling him into a false sense of security, providing a vehicle to get to the scene, or encouraging others with words and actions.
Donnelly said there was significant animosity held by prominent members of the group towards McAllister.
The animosity was based on the belief he had acted inappropriately towards females and towards some members of the group and others they knew about, he said.
Peter Redpath, lawyer for Scheepers, told the jury at the beginning of the trial that Scheepers was party to an agreement to assault McAllister, but not to murder him.
‘‘She did not perceive murder as a probable consequence of what she agreed to,’’ Redpath said.
Fiona Guy Kidd, lawyer for Brown, told the jury at the beginning of the trial that Brown denied he knew a murder would happen on the night McAllister was attacked.
Brown denied he knew that Whiting-Roff really intended to kill McAllister, Guy Kidd said.
Hugo Young, lawyer for the 24-year-old with name suppression, told the jury at the beginning of the trial that his client didn’t do anything that assisted anyone with the assault.
The lawyers for Wilson and Ruffell opted not to make opening statements at the beginning of the trial.