By Bay of Plenty Times Court Reporter
A Western Bay woman has recounted details of a dreadful "queasy, swaying and jelly-like feeling" after her drink was allegedly spiked in a Tauranga bar.
The woman yesterday gave evidence in the Tauranga District Court jury trial of 25-year-old Samuel David Renner, who has denied one charge of stupefying.
It is alleged that Renner repeatedly whispered "you're coming home with me" in the 28-year-old Tauranga woman's ear after she started to feel ill.
The complainant told the court how quiet Friday evening drinks with friends turned sinister when she found she could no longer control her body and was taken to Tauranga Hospital by ambulance.
"It started out slowly and progressed. Initially I had a queasy sort of feeling and was swaying, a bit like I was on a boat.
"My legs were like jelly, my mind was clear but my body was just asleep."
The Crown alleges that was the result of Renner slipping two herbal pills - known as The Journey - into her drink in the early hours of August 30, 2003.
The pill contains Benzylpiperazine and Trifluoromethylphenylpiperazinec - two of the most common ingredients in what are known as herbal highs or party pills.
The alleged incident occurred after the complainant and a friend were drinking at The Strand's Grumpy Mole Saloon and were approached by the defendant.
Renner, a fisherman now living in Western Australia, spent many hours socialising with the pair - in particular speaking with the complainant's friend, who is one of 10 prosecution witnesses expected to give evidence throughout the three-day trial.
But the complainant said that just 45 minutes after Renner bought her and her friend a drink, she knew something was not right.
"I was really tired ... I just wanted to go home. My breathing was quite slow and shallow."
Leaving the premises, the pair were then followed outside by Renner and down to a bench outside the Crown and Badger pub - where the women waited for the friend's brother to collect them.
"It felt like someone was jumping on my chest," said the complainant, noting that she spent most of the 30-minute wait slumped on her friend's shoulder.
The six-man six-woman jury was told that the woman, who was falling in and out of consciousness, vomited in the street before Renner repeatedly suggested she accompany him home.
"He whispered in my ear 'you're coming home with me, you're coming home with me, you're coming home with me'," she said.
The complainant believed the comments would end once her ride arrived but she said they did not.
Her friend asked Renner how he was getting home and whether he wanted a ride.
At this stage, the complainant said she was thinking "God no" but did not have the ability to say anything.
Renner, however, accepted the lift and jumped into the back of the vehicle with the woman.
While on the way to the defendant's Greerton address, the complainant said Renner continued to tell her she would be staying at his place for the evening.
"He just kept saying 'you're coming home with me, you're coming home with me'."
However, she refused, and Renner subsequently got out at his stop alone.
She was later taken to Tauranga Hospital for observation.
It was the repetitive phase "you're coming home with me" that drew the attention of defence lawyer Bill Nabney.
Under cross-examination, he asked the complainant whether it was possible that the words she believed were whispered in her ear were in fact intended for her friend.
"Did you not say that Mr Renner was talking with (your friend) for most of the night?" he inquired.
"Was it not a conversation between Mr Renner and (your friend) that you heard ... or something you imagined while going in and out of consciousness?"
But the complainant responded to each question with the same answer: "No.
"It was not a conversation between them. He whispered it in my ear - 'you're coming home with me, you're coming home with me, you're coming home with me'."
The trial, before Judge Peter Rollo, is expected to continue today.
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