Chris Shadrock never meant to kill the woman he ran down in a stolen 4WD shortly after snatching her handbag, a court has heard.
The 25-year-old has denied murdering Jian "Joanne'' Wang in the carpark of the Westfield mall in Manukau, Auckland in June 2008 and is facing trial at the High Court at Auckland.
In the opening address of the defence case, Shadrock's lawyer Chris Wilkinson-Smith told jurors his client did not have murderous intent when he drove away from Mrs Wang.
And he said witnesses would tell the court it was not the impact of the 4WD hitting Mrs Wang that caused her fatal injuries.
Mr Wilkinson-Smith said those injuries were caused when Mrs Wang's head collided with the concrete carpark surface.