Bain's open eyes during collapse 'a bit strange'

Constable Leslie Andrew speaks in court during David Bain's trial. Photo / Getty Images

A policeman who went to David Bain's aid after he collapsed at the time his family were found dead has told the High Court at Christchurch how he found his collapsing "a bit strange".

Constable Leslie Andrew was watching over Bain after being called to his Dunedin home on the morning of June 20, 1994, when five members of the family had been killed.

Bain is accused of shooting dead his parents and three siblings, but his lawyers are arguing that his father, Robin, killed his family before turning the gun on himself.

The court was told that when police officers first arrived they heard tapping at the window and saw a person sitting inside.

After failed attempts to have Bain unlock the door, Sergeant Murray Stapp used a piece of wood to smash his way in.

Mr Andrew said when he first found Bain in a room near the front door, he was sitting on the floor and holding a telephone receiver.

While he stayed in the doorway near Bain, other police officers found four bodies in the house. When officers later found the fifth body downstairs, they yelled out to let other police know.

When that happened, Bain started shaking and fell backwards, Mr Andrew said.

He said he had seen people have seizures before when "the white of their eyes becomes predominant and the eyes flicker quite a lot".

But Bain's eyes were open and seemed normal, and did not change when he collapsed, Mr Andrew said.

"I just thought it was a bit strange."

He said he pulled Bain out from where he lay between the bed and the wall and put him into the recovery position. By that time "he was limp".

Chief ambulance officer Craig Wombwell was called in to help Bain after what he was told was a fit, and said he found him in a fetal position at the base of his bed.

"He was shivering, is the best way I can describe it," Mr Wombwell said.

"His eyes were closed and when I shone the torch light on him, his eyelids were sort of flickering.

"I determined very quickly that he didn't appear to have a life-threatening condition.

"It didn't appear he had had a full-blown fit."

Kim Stephenson, then a Dunedin policeman, recalled that when he had earlier asked Bain through the window to open the door, the accused said, "No, Dad's in there", and pointed towards the side of the house where his father lay dead.

* The court is not sitting today. The trial resumes on Monday.