The man accused of beating to death his on-off partner Allison McPhee told three men a few days after the killing "I have got the bitch", a jury was told today.
The evidence was given on the fifth day of Hone John Haerewa's trial in the High Court in Wellington for murdering 42-year-old Ms McPhee at her suburban Newtown home in July last year.
Haerewa, 53, often visited the city's night shelter for homeless men to chat to some of those who stayed there, the court was told .
One of them, Bryce Wilson, said in evidence today he also frequently saw the accused at the Home of Compassion soup kitchen and "generally just being around" Wellington.
Mr Wilson and two other men had spent the night of July 30, 2010, in the shelter and were sitting outside at 6am the next day when Haerewa joined them.