Death by ballpoint pen
A dispute between two members of the same gang came to a violent and unexpected end when one grabbed a ballpoint pen and stabbed the other to death with it.
John Kina Edwards, 55, of Hastings, appeared in the High Court at Hamilton yesterday, where he pleaded guilty to causing the death of Deiderick John Grant, on June 5, 2020 by an unlawful act – namely assaulting him – and thereby committing manslaughter.
Edwards and Grant, 57, were friends and long-term patched members of the Mongrel Mob Rogue chapter, the agreed summary of facts on the case reveals.
That afternoon Edwards and other Mob members travelled from Ngāruawāhia to Grant’s home in Slim St, in the Hamilton suburb of Bader, to sort out matters between them in a feud linked to the alleged theft of a safe.
When they arrived about 3.50pm, Grant was not home, although his adult daughter, his partner, and her three children were there. Grant’s daughter texted him to tell him he had visitors, and a short time later he returned home.
Grant and Edwards initially spoke in the garage, before both went into the house, away from the others, to talk further.
The pair had a heated dispute in one of the bedrooms. Loud banging could be heard by those still in the garage.
At some point, Edwards struck Grant and the older man fell to the ground. While he was lying prone on the floor Edwards picked up a plastic ballpoint pen and used it to repeatedly stab him in the face and chest.
Grant’s injuries included a 3-centimetre penetrating wound through his upper right eyelid that passed through the skin, tissue, right orbital part of the frontal bone and into the membrane that surrounds the brain.
He also suffered numerous defensive wounds to both of his arms.
During the assault the ballpoint pen broke. Despite that, Edwards continued to stab Grant with what was left of it.
Edwards left the room and he and his associates left the house soon after.
Grant’s partner found him in the bedroom, covered in blood. She attempted to give him first aid, including CPR, but to no avail.
Police staff and paramedics arrived at the house quickly, but Grant was pronounced dead at the scene.
A post-mortem examination found the cause of death to be the combined effects of the injuries Edwards inflicted with the pen; a preexisting heart disease condition; and the presence of methamphetamine and amphetamine in his bloodstream.
Edwards was eventually arrested in Wairoa on July 28, 2021.
But why were Edwards and Grant so angry with each other?
The genesis of their feud involved the alleged theft of a safe, believed to contain more than $250,000, from a house in Hastings. The safe allegedly belonged to Edwards and one of his friends.
The person Edwards and his associates believed was responsible was a former resident of the house. He was also a close friend of Grant, who had been in a relationship with the man’s mother and was effectively a kind of father figure to him.
After initially threatening the man and his partner, Edwards had confronted him and demanded the return of the stolen safe and its contents.
The man, however, consistently denied any knowledge of or responsibility for the theft.
He and his family later moved from Hastings to Hamilton and met with Grant, who said he would try and sort the situation out.
He did not.
Edwards was convicted and issued a first strike warning by Justice Melanie Harland, who remanded him in ongoing custody until his sentencing on August 31.