Stabbing second tragedy for family
A family had gathered at an Ashburton home to mark the anniversary of a relative’s death shortly before a man was allegedly murdered.
Neighbours reported hearing screams coming from the property in McDonald St, Netherby, about 10.30pm on Tuesday.
Police found Tainui James Wano, 25, dead inside the house. He had suffered stab wounds.
A 23-year-old Ashburton man was remanded in custody on a charge of murdering Wano, who was allegedly stabbed to death.
The man, from Allenton, was remanded without plea for an appearance in the High Court at Timaru on October 4.
Duty lawyer Kiran Paima said no bail application was being made and asked for an interim suppression order ‘‘to protect fair trial rights’’ as well as the remand to the High Court.
Judge David Saunders said fair trial rights were not a ground for suppression, but agreed to make the order until the High Court appearance, when it would need to be fully argued with more substantial grounds.
He accepted the man had just been arrested and family members needed to be notified in the meantime.
The man, and the public gallery, remained silent throughout the court appearance in Christchurch.
It is understood the victim’s family had gathered at the home to mark the 11th anniversary of the death of Rangi Wano, Tainui’s brother.
Rangi, 16, was an unrestrained back seat passenger in a car being pursued by police when it crashed into another car in Christchurch, near the Eastgate Shopping Centre, on September 13, 2005.
A nearby neighbour said she heard a man threatening someone at the McDonald St property on Tuesday night.
‘‘He was really angry and he was yelling ‘I’m going to f ...... kill you c...’ and he said he was going to stab him in the throat.’’
Another neighbour said he heard a man yelling.
‘‘He was screaming, ‘I’m going to f ...... kill you’. He said it a couple of times.
‘‘I sat up and listened, didn’t hear anything after that, until a little bit later on I heard car doors banging and cars coming and going and then a little bit later I heard sirens.’’
The man said the property had gang affiliations.
Police said the victim had suffered stab wounds.
A forensics team were seen examining the victim’s property yesterday.
Rangi Wano was described by police as a ‘‘prolific, recidivist juvenile offender’’.
He escaped from his Child, Youth and Family family home on September 12, 2005.
On the morning of September 13, he was spotted by two police officers who were staking out the property. He was in the rear seat of a white Pontiac Le Mans leaving a Hereford St house.
The officers challenged the driver, who sped off. One of the officers gave chase in an unmarked police car.
The pursuit reached speeds of 100kmh through suburban streets, and the car being pursued went through a stop sign and a set of red lights.
In Buckleys Rd, near the Eastgate Shopping Centre, the car mounted a raised traffic island at about 100kmh, crossed to the other side of the road and crashed headon into a Subaru station wagon.
Wano was taken to hospital, where he died.
Wayne Darius Silbery, 17, the driver of the Pontiac Le Mans, admitted a charge of manslaughter and was jailed for four years and eight months.