Murder accused wanted to talk, not kill, jury hears
Murder accused Christopher Brown went to the ILT Stadium Southland on June 7 last year with the intention of talking to his cousin Jack McAllister about his alleged sexual offending, and maybe punching him, but murder was never the plan, a High Court jury has heard.
Brown’s defence lawyer Fiona Guy Kidd, in her closing address yesterday, quoted what Brown told police in his recorded interview.
‘‘I have nothing against him, I just got told he was sexually assaulting a female again, but I just wanted to tell him, bro, you need to cut it out, but Brayden [Whiting-Roff] had different plans.’’
Whiting-Roff, who has already admitted murdering McAllister, stabbed him 14 times near the stadium and he died in hospital early the next day.
However, murder was not part of Brown’s vision for that night, Guy Kidd said.
Brown, 20, Laura Scheepers, 19, David Wilson, 20, Natasha Ruffell, 27, and a 24-year-old woman with name suppression are on trial for McAllister’s murder.
None of the five defendants are accused of physically causing McAllister’s death, but they are alleged to have arranged, encouraged or otherwise been party to the stabbing near the stadium.
McAllister, 19, was lured to near the stadium on the promise of sex from Scheepers.
Brown acknowledged in a police interview that Whiting-Roff had said before they went to the stadium that he was going to stab McAllister.
But Brown later clarified that Whiting-Roff didn’t actually say he was going to kill him, Guy Kidd said.
Brown had not taken WhitingRoff
seriously, she said.
‘‘In this group of young people threatening to kill someone and threatening to smash someone are words bandied about . . .’’
Guy Kidd said a witness statement that Brown had said he had wanted to stab McAllister was contrary to other evidence.
When Brown arrived at the stadium he lifted his balaclava up and exposed his face.
‘‘If his intentions were to assist in the commission of a murder when there are two people there, he wouldn’t reveal his face, would he? ‘‘But that’s the first thing he does.’’
Brown had told police he had a knife but he had not used it and he had ‘‘left it’’, she said.
There was no evidence he had his knife at the stadium, Guy Kidd said.
‘‘If he intended to help Brayden WhitingRoff commit murder, wouldn’t he have carried it with him?’’
He had also told Whiting-Roff not to use his knife, she said.
His actions were not consistent with someone wanting to assist or encourage murder, indeed it was discouragement, she said.
She rejected the Crown assertion that he had kicked a running McAllister to stop him escaping, saying he did so to to stop from getting bowled over.
Guy Kidd said Brown only saw Whiting-Roff stab McAllister four times in the back and at that time he grabbed Whiting-Roff’s arms behind his back, but Whiting-Roff swung out of his hold.
After Brown returned home from the stadium, he left his knife and balaclava in plain view and the next day he wore the same clothes.
‘‘He had nothing to hide,’’ Guy Kidd said. ‘‘The Crown would have you believe Christopher Brown was out to kill Jack McAllister, but that’s nonsense.’’