ESR scientist David Neale displays a foot impression taken from near the victim's head. Photo / Mark Mitchell
Whoever killed Scott Guy stood so close to his fallen body that blood seeped into their footprints by his head.
The boots left distinctive "wavy-lined" patterns on the driveway where he was shot in the darkness, across a muddy paddock to where puppies were kept in an old cow shed, then back towards Aorangi Rd.
The size nine prints are crucial evidence in the murder case against Ewen Macdonald, whom the Crown alleges owned a pair of dive boots that could make the same marks. The footwear, which was never found, was the focus of the trial yesterday at the High Court at Wellington.
The court heard that police searched to match the shoe impressions from computer databases held by law enforcement agencies in Australia and Canada, and the FBI.
"Hundreds of thousands of shoes were searched and none matched," said Detective Laurie Howell.
Police in Operation Yellow also visited sport and hunting stores across the lower North Island, seeking advice on what could have left such a mark.
For nearly 12 months, nothing matched.
Until Detective James Bugg discovered the Proline W375, which is a neoprene dive boot or wader.
Further inquiries led Mr Bugg to Richard Stephens, a Manawatu businessman who was the sole importer of that particular make and model to New Zealand.
In 2003, Mr Stephens ordered a shipment of 305 pairs which he supplied to the Hunting & Fishing store franchise group around the country.
"I believe they could be used by my customers for the purposes of hunting or camp boot or rock fishing boot."
He sold them at a wholesale price of $35 plus GST. Retailers for the Hunting & Fishing group sold 281 pairs, including 54 in size nine.
Of those, five size nine pairs were sold at the Palmerston North store now owned by Ewen Macdonald's father, Kerry. The Crown alleges Macdonald bought a size nine pair from his father at cost price.
Under cross-examination by defence lawyer Greg King, Mr Stephens could not account for the 29 pairs that were unsold. He confirmed the boots were sold at Hunting & Fishing stores around the country and could not rule out people buying them over the internet.
"What size are yours?" asked Mr King, followed by a long pause.
"Nine or ten," answered Mr Stephens. Laughter followed when Mr King said: "I'm not accusing you of anything you understand."
Andrew Tannock opened the first Hunting & Fishing store in Palmerston North and is now a senior company executive.
He told the court yesterday that the franchise began stocking the Proline W375 after a pitch from Mr Stephens.
Mr Tannock explained the dive boot could be used in camp as a light, dry replacement to boots worn after a day's hunting. Or the W375 could be worn to stalk game.
"Good hunters will go as quietly as they can. Deer have very acute sense of hearing, if they hear a twig break, they'll run a mile," said Mr Tannock.
"Some hunters wear socks, but that can be a bit hard going. This is somewhere between a sock and a boot."
Under cross-examination, he agreed with Mr King's suggestion the boots would be useful for burglars.
Once the police identified the distinctive "wavy-lined" print as that of the Proline model, Mr Howell conducted further inquiries online to establish whether other shoes had similar soles. He personally reviewed more than 30,000 pairs.
"I never found any shoe close to the Proline."
Mr Howell also contacted the shoe supplier in the United States and discovered the soles were manufactured in Taiwan until 2006.
A new supplier took over making the sole and while the W375 can still be purchased online - as Mr Howell did - the sole does not leave the same print.
Under cross-examination, Mr Howell could not recall whether his inquiries included all the dive boot brands listed by Greg King.
After the Proline boots were identified, they were sent to Environmental Science and Research to compare to print impressions left at the murder scene in Feilding.
ESR forensic scientist David Neale told the court how the prints were carefully protected, then preserved by cast moulds. He also eliminated other shoe prints found on the Aorangi Rd property.
Mr Neale found "numerous occurrences" of the wavy pattern around the ute which Mr Guy was driving, across a paddock where chocolate labrador puppies were kept and close to Mr Guy's head and feet.
"Blood was still flowing and the blood has flowed into this impression."
The Crown alleges Macdonald killed the puppies to create a false lead for investigators.
Mr Neale will continue to give evidence today about the footprints.
The dive boots are a key part of the Crown case against Macdonald. His wife, Anna, gave evidence to say she threw the boots out as rubbish, but later changed her mind to say she was not 100 per cent sure.
His mother, Marlene Macdonald, remembers the boots at her son's home after he moved into a new house with his family in mid-2008.
Jury members have also been shown photos of Ewen Macdonald wearing dive boots on a hunting trip to Stewart Island in 2005.