Son found dad’s body, court told
The son of a man allegedly shot dead by three armed robbers has tearfully told a High Court jury about the traumatic moment he found his father’s body.
Whakapumautanga ‘‘Cookie’’ Clarke, 25, Cody Paul Griffin, 25, and Daniel George Chase, 22, are on trial in Hamilton on charges of murder and aggravated robbery.
Scott John Henry, 48, was found dead at his Whangamata Rd property near Kinloch, north of Lake Taupo¯ , on Thursday, July 20 last year.
The trio are each accused of murdering Henry and, being armed with a firearm, robbing him of a green Ridgeline Pikau bag and its contents.
The trial has been reduced to two weeks from an initial three, after the three defendants conceded they were the three men who went to Henry’s property that night.
On the trial’s third day yesterday, Liam Henry gave evidence, and recounted the moment he discovered his father had been killed.
He had been visiting a friend in Taupo¯ and was being dropped off at their home by a neighbour when he saw a torch lying on the ground outside the house, shining its beam into the night.
Moments later he saw his father’s body.
‘‘As we pulled up, I saw Dad lying on the ground ... I jumped up and ran over. I tried to look for an explanation.
‘‘I could see blood coming out of his mouth and going down the side of his face. His eyes had a bit of discolour to them.
Henry said he ‘‘freaked out’’ and began yelling at the man who dropped him off, Kurt Carlsson, to get help.
Earlier, Carlsson had given his own evidence to the court, during which he said he believed Scott Henry might have been drunk. He drove off.
Liam Henry dragged his father inside.
‘‘I was holding him and sitting down ... That’s when I rang [111] and they told me to perform CPR ... from the instructions from the lady on the phone.’’
Crown prosecutor Amanda Gordon asked him: ‘‘Did you know how he died?’’
He replied: ‘‘I had a fair idea’’. His father’s partner Kylie Hartley was nowhere to be found, and Liam Henry screamed her name into the night, to no avail.
At one point he picked up the torch that had been lying beside his father’s body, in order to direct emergency services to their address.
Liam Henry said he was aware his father had been dealing in marijuana and methamphetamine, however he was not involved in such activities.
‘‘He tried to keep it away from us kids.’’
Liam Henry said he had met some of the defendants in Taupo¯ , ‘‘but I can’t say I know them’’.
He was not aware of his father providing the three defendants with drugs.
He said his father habitually kept his drugs in a little green Ridgline Pikau bag that he kept with him most of the time.
Clarke is represented in court by Max Simpkins, Chase’s counsel is Bill Lawson, and Griffin’s counsel is John Munro.
JUROR DISCHARGED
The jury was reduced to 11 after a female juror was discharged of her duties yesterday morning after apparently having trouble staying awake as the witnesses were giving evidence.
Justice Sarah Katz brought the juror in to court following the morning adjournment and, in open court, thanked her for her service and while she appreciated the juror’s willingness to continue attending the trial, she had to discharge her ‘‘as a result of your medical issues’’.
Afterwards, the judge told the remaining jurors their companion who had been ‘‘having difficulty focusing’’ had been discharged.
The defendants were facing very serious charges and ‘‘it is very important that you are able to give the case your full attention’’.
The trial continues.