Exgang prospect cleared of sex worker killing

CHRISTCHURCH: A former Mongrel Mob prospect found guilty of murdering Christchurch sex worker Mellory Manning seven years ago was yesterday cleared of her killing, after it was found his foetal alcohol spectrum disorder meant his admissions in police interviews were inadmissible.

Mauha Huataki Fawcett was the only person convicted in the 2008 slaying of Ms Manning, who was picked up from her soliciting spot on Manchester St and driven to a nearby gang pad where she was raped, bashed, stabbed and murdered before her body was dumped in the Avon River.

Fawcett, who was known in the gang as ‘‘Muck Dog’’, denied having anything to do with the killing.

After a trial in the High Court at Christchurch in 2014, he was found guilty of being a party to Ms Manning’s murder and was sentenced to at least 20 years in jail.

The conviction was later quashed by the Court of Appeal, the reasons suppressed while a retrial was ordered. He was due to face a retrial next year. However, yesterday, Justice Rachel Dunningham, in the High Court at Christchurch, granted an application to dismiss the murder charge under section 147 of the Criminal Procedure Act 2011. The judge’s full reasons will be released at a later date.

Justice Dunningham granted Fawcett’s application to dismiss the charge and allowed media to report on the 2017 Court of Appeal decision which quashed his conviction.

‘‘There is expert evidence, which was not before the High Court, that Mr Fawcett meets the criteria for foetal alcohol spectrum disorder,’’ the ruling said.

‘‘His IQ is within low to normal bounds but test results show extreme variability of function. He has very weak verbal reasoning and memory deficits . . . Importantly, he is very suggestible. The case has certain parallels with Pora v R.’’ —