Lyttle ‘not involved’ in disappearance
The defence evidence for David Owen Lyttle, charged with murdering his missing friend in 2011, has begun in the High Court at Wellington.
Lyttle, 54, has pleaded not guilty to murdering Bretton (Brett) Hall. The pair were friends and Lyttle was building Hall a house.
Lyttle’s lawyer, Liz Hall, said the defence would be calling evidence but she made no mention of Lyttle giving evidence. ‘‘You have heard from us for the last seven weeks so I know you will have a clear understanding of what our position is: David Lyttle had nothing to do with the disappearance of Bretton Hall.’’
Liz Hall said the defence would call some extra evidence to add to the information the Crown was trying to puzzle together. ‘‘There’s information, all of it known to the police or available to the police, that they have not placed before you. It doesn’t suit their case and they’ve made that decision, so we’re placing it before you so you can have more, more information to consider and it may be you find the evidence we call helpful in your overall assessment.’’
She reminded the jury Lyttle was innocent unless the prosecution could call evidence that made the jury sure he was guilty.
Brett Hall has not been seen since May 2011, and his body has not been found.
The jury has heard that Hall’s disappearance came to be investigated as a homicide. In 2014, Lyttle was the subject of an undercover operation in which police pretended to draw him into a crime group, leading to an interview with the ‘‘big boss’’ to become a member. He was told he had to be upfront about any issues he had with police.
The Crown says Lyttle admitted he shot Hall and when he didn’t die immediately he put a plastic bag over his head to suffocate him before dismembering the body, putting it in bags and burying the bits on two beaches.
But at the beginning of the trial in September Lyttle’s other lawyer, Christopher Stevenson, said the police undercover operation was a ‘‘scam’’. Lyttle told them he was not involved in Hall’s disappearance, but that was not acceptable to them so he made up a ridiculous story. The jury would be able to see it was a false confession, he said.
Hall almost certainly lost his life because he was immersed in the drug underworld, he said.