Witness tells of being threatened with an iron bar

Three of the five accused of murdering Craig Rippon -- Mathew Thomas Madams, Kevin Roy Madams, and Tyrone Peter Madams in the dock at the High Court in Whanganui.

"Justice will be served" - those were the words of Craig Rippon's daughter, Natasha Kuru, in the High Court in Whanganui on Friday.

Mrs Kuru described to Crown prosecutor Harry Mallalieu her account of the attack on her father on November 8, 2015, at their home in Rimu Street, Gonville. Whanganui Black Power leader Mr Rippon died later that day in hospital.

From a window she saw Tyrone Peter Madams "smashing my dad in the head with a pole".

She told the court she ran outside to "save my dad" but was threatened by Tyrone Peter Madams.

"He was waving the iron bar at me like if I came any closer he was going to smash me."

But Peter Brosnahan, defence lawyer for Tyrone Peter Madams, suggested she hadn't seen the attack but had colluded with other members of the Rippon family to assign blame.

"You said in an earlier statement, 'I remember [Tyrone Peter Madams] there but he wasn't so close to my dad'," Mr Brosnahan said.

"He wasn't there at all was he?"

Mrs Kuru became visibly distressed. "If his son can man up for it, why can't he?" she said.

"They all need to go down for it."

Tyrone Peter Madams is one of five people charged with the murder of Mr Rippon, 57. Matthew Thomas Madams, Kevin Roy Madams, and two youths are also charged with murder. All five are also charged with participating in a criminal organisation. They have denied the charges.

Peter Surridge, lawyer for Kevin Madams, also questioned Mrs Kuru's account.

"I would suggest you say [Kevin Madams] was there because that is what your family have discussed," he said.

Earlier yesterday, the court heard another witness earlier describe how he saw Tyrone Peter Madams strike Mr Rippon with a pole "hard enough to hear" on the side of the head.

The witness ran outside to help Mr Rippon when the group approached him "waving their iron bars in the air".

"We thought they were going to start on us," the witness said.

The group then stopped and backed away before leaving in their vehicles.

The witness said that before leaving, Tyrone Peter Madams said the attack was in return for a cut eye, and pointed at Mr Rippon saying: "I hope he's going to be all right."

Mr Brosnahan questioned the witness' recollection of events and whether his client was on the property at all.

According to the witness, Tyrone Peter Madams and Mr Rippon were close friends and both presidents of seperate Black Power chapters in Whanganui.

In June, Tyrone William Madams pleaded guilty to Mr Rippon's murder and was sentenced to life imprisonment.