Murder accused: ‘Bring load of bricks?’
A woman, accused of murder, messaged her co-defendant ‘‘Bring load of bricks?’’, a High Court jury was told in Invercargill yesterday.
Sandy Maree Graham, 32, has pleaded not guilty to the murder of Dale Tama Watene, 40, at Otautau on April 16, 2020.
George Ivor Hyde, 24, has pleaded not guilty to being an accessory after the fact to the murder of Watene, at Otautau between April 16 and 27, 2020.
Watene’s body was buried under bricks in Longwood Forest.
Earlier in the trial, crown evidence showed a video of Hyde telling police that Graham called him crying on April 16, 2020. Hyde drove to her house, saw Watene’s body, they dug a hole in Longwood Forest and Hyde returned later to bury the body, he said. Police found Watene’s body on May 18, 2020.
Hyde’s defence have told the jury Hyde thought Watene shot himself and he assisted because he did not want Graham to get in trouble for having a gun and lose her children.
Yesterday, Detective Alun Griffiths was called as a crown witness and the jury heard Radio Access Network (RAN/ cell tower) data evidence.
The last detected activity of Watene’s phone was at 9.34pm on April 16, 2020, and Hyde’s phone travelled to Otautau at 9.43pm, Griffiths said.
On the morning of April 27, 2020, Graham and Hyde exchanged Facebook messages.
Graham: Doing today.
Hyde: Not sure wbu [what about you]. Graham: Fuk all (sic).
Hyde: Sounds fun lol. Graham: What time u cumn over (sic). Hyde: After I finish my breakfast. Graham: Bring load of bricks? Hyde: Yip (sic).
Griffiths’ evidence shows RAN events where a phone ‘‘polls’’, meaning it interacted with a specific cellphone tower.
After the exchange about bricks,
Hyde’s phone then travelled to Otautau and his Prado was seen travelling towards the forest, Griffiths said.
Hyde’s phone polled in the forest and then the same camera showed the Prado being driven in the other direction away from the forest, the detective said.
Graham’s lawyers did not crossexamine Griffiths.
Hyde’s lawyer, Fiona Guy Kidd, QC, questioned Griffiths about ‘‘inferred’’ locations that Griffiths had marked on maps. Griffiths said the locations corresponded with the cell towers and roads in the area, to ‘‘infer’’ that was where a device was.
Guy Kidd asked whether there was some human input and judgment in selecting these locations, to which Griffiths answered ‘‘yes’’.
Speaking about 12.12am to 6.29am on April 17, 2020, Guy Kidd said there was a significant period of time with no activity recorded, and one possibility was there was no RAN activity during that period.
Griffiths replied yes, but if he was at home on wi-fi, he [Hyde] could communicate extensively and not generate RAN events.
Officer in charge of the investigation, Detective Sergeant Chris Lucy, was called as a crown witness yesterday. An initial production order for Graham’s communication records was not granted by the courts because there were insufficient grounds, Lucy said. Under crossexamination from Graham’s lawyer, the court heard police later got an audio surveillance warrant for Graham’s phone, house, and a motel room she was moved to while her house was searched.
During cross-examination from Hyde’s lawyer, the court was told CCTV footage of Hyde’s Prado was taken as ‘‘those bricks are going to the burial site’’, Guy Kidd said. Lucy replied ‘‘yes’’.
The crown contends Graham shot Watene and organised Hyde to hide the body and evidence. But Graham’s defence told the jury the focus would be on what happened in a brief moment during a domestic struggle, which was a tragic accident.
The trial continues