The trial, presided over by Justice Karen Clark, began on Monday and, although set down for 10 days, is now expected to end tomorrow.
Turipa-Wano is denying murder, wounding with reckless disregard, and unlawfully possessing a firearm, his father's .22 rifle, which he smashed out of a secured closet after locking himself in their house soon after the stabbing.
A psychiatric assessment found him fit to stand trial.
The Crown alleges Turipa-Wano knew what he was doing at the time and was criminally responsible. Defence counsel Russell Fairbrother QC, assisted by counsel Gretel Fairbrother, relies on a rarely used defence - that Turipa-Wano was so intoxicated he had no idea what he was doing, so was not criminally responsible.
Two police officers called to a house at the isolated rural Waimoko Pa community that morning thought they were going to deal with an attempted suicide by Turipa-Wano.
They watched through windows as Turipa-Wano, armed with the gun, rummaged around inside.
When he noticed the officers, Turipa-Wano came outside and aimed the rifle, lacking a bolt, directly at one officer as if poised to shoot. But threatened with a Taser, he immediately threw the gun to the ground and gave himself up.
During the more than two-hour interview, Turipa-Wano called Detective-Sergeant Daniel Kirk "bro" and repeatedly said he could not believe he had stabbed and killed his best friend, and it should be him who had died.
He insisted there was no dispute between him and Mita, or anyone else at the gathering that night. Any trouble was all in his mind, Turipa-Wano said.
He heard voices when he had been drinking and Mita used to help him.
"There were people in my head. When I drink I get into a state where I block everything out. I hear voices and the bro [Mita] actually used to help me through a lot of that. It's all in your head, Tawari used to say.
"I just don't know what the f*** came over me bro - honestly bro. I never went that far to do that, not with weapons - especially weapons. I never ever do that in front of my family. I might have done that with the cuzzies but not extremely like that."
Turipa-Wano talked about his use of drugs, saying he began using acid, methamphetamine, mushrooms and LSD while at college, before even trying marijuana, which he started smoking at about 18.
He had taken four tabs of LSD the day before the party and smoked methamphetamine while there. Mita did not like those kinds of drugs - he was "all about the herb" and would not have approved of him using them, Turipa-Wano said.
But alcohol affected him, Turipa-Wano claimed. It was only when he drank that he heard voices.
"We should go for a beer, it's the only way to show you," he said several times to the detective.
For most of the first hour of the interview, Turipa-Wano claimed he could not remember what he had in his hands when he returned to the party at the house next door. He had been sent home for brandishing another knife and unintentionally hurting a man who managed to take it off him.
Turipa-Wano said he thought he had a sharp object in one hand and a large lump of wood in the other. As the interview progressed, he clearly remembered he was carrying a knife and a metal wrench.
His memory of other details also returned. He began naming various individuals who were at the gathering that night.
He remembered initially thinking he must have killed his mother, as he was unable to see her when police arrested him.
He recalled tussling with Mita but not stabbing him.
"[I was] going hard, no remorse just anger spazzing out. I'm pretty sure I didn't, but nah, yeah I did, cos then he'll be alive if I didn't."
"Must have lost it and just chucked my arms everywhere. F***** knife. And he must'a been just right there. Oh I'm sorry. It just happened so fast. He was just trying to keep the situation calm but I was just egging out. I'm just having glimpses. Feels like a video show."
There was no excuse for what he'd done, he told the detective. The justice system could do as it wanted with him. He knew his family would not support him now and that he would never be able to go back to Waimoko Pa.
"I just heard heaps of crying and mumbling, and then screaming, and then I was looking around for my mum and I was like 'where's my mum, did I hurt my mum?'
"Then I heard one of the cops say they'd found a knife and I thought straight away 'f*** I hope I haven't killed my mum'. I really would be trapped if that happened. Imagine what wouda happened if I hurt my mum. The pain everybody would have went through if I ever did that. I didn't. Instead I took the harmless one out of all of them.
"I'm a f***** idiot because I hardly ever drink bro. When I was younger I was quite excessive and once I got me a job, a permanent job, I was starting to become responsible you know - no drinking, a perfect job, a perfect life, just started making money, making new family and friends. All it takes is one night on the booze and I just ruined all of it.
"I'm gonna respect all my family's wishes. I know they're not gonna come to support. I respect them. They're alright. I deserve what I get.
"It's a place of peace, that place Waimoko. It's a wonderful place. You wanna get away from problems, go there, man. Good people, good mums, good mums and families.
"Now I think I was just the odd one out living there."
