Northern Advocate
  • Northern Advocate home
  • Latest news
  • Business
  • Opinion
  • Lifestyle
  • Sport
  • Property
  • Video
  • Death notices
  • Classifieds

Subscriptions

  • Herald Premium
  • Viva Premium
  • The Listener
  • BusinessDesk

Sections

  • Latest news
  • On The Up
  • Business
  • Opinion
  • Lifestyle
  • Rural
    • All Rural
    • Dairy farming
    • Sheep & beef farming
    • Horticulture
    • Animal health
    • Rural business
    • Rural life
    • Rural technology
  • Sport
  • Property
    • All Property
    • Residential property listings

Locations

  • Far North
  • Kaitaia
  • Kaikohe
  • Bay of Islands
  • Whangārei
  • Kaipara
  • Mangawhai
  • Dargaville

Media

  • Video
  • Photo galleries
  • Today's Paper - E-Editions
  • Photo sales
  • Classifieds

Weather

  • Kaitaia
  • Whangārei
  • Dargaville

NZME Network

  • Advertise with NZME
  • OneRoof
  • Driven Car Guide
  • BusinessDesk
  • Newstalk ZB
  • Sunlive
  • ZM
  • The Hits
  • Coast
  • Radio Hauraki
  • The Alternative Commentary Collective
  • Gold
  • Flava
  • iHeart Radio
  • Hokonui
  • Radio Wanaka
  • iHeartCountry New Zealand
  • Restaurant Hub
  • NZME Events

SubscribeSign In

Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.
Home / Northern Advocate

Fatal beating in retaliation to narking, Crown tells jury

Imran Ali
Imran Ali
Multimedia Journalist·Northern Advocate·
23 Jun, 2021 05:00 PM4 mins to read

Subscribe to listen

Access to Herald Premium articles require a Premium subscription. Subscribe now to listen.
Already a subscriber?  

Listening to articles is free for open-access content—explore other articles or learn more about text-to-speech.
‌
Save
    Share this article
The Crown is alleging Samuel Pou inflicted a beating on his partner knowing that the punches will kill her. Photo / Tania Whyte

The Crown is alleging Samuel Pou inflicted a beating on his partner knowing that the punches will kill her. Photo / Tania Whyte

Warning: This story discusses graphic details of domestic violence

Samuel Pou was angry that his partner narked on him so he inflicted a prolonged beating at a rural Northland property without cellphone coverage and help at hand to ensure there was no way she would tell on him again, the Crown told a jury.

Crown solicitor Mike Smith told a jury in his closing address in the High Court at Whangārei that Pou intended to kill Bridget Simmonds when he beat her in a hut on Wilson Rd in Parakao and later diverted blame on others.

Samuel Pou, 58, is facing one charge of murder and his nephew Te Koha Pou is charged with dishonestly using Simmonds's bank card and helping his uncle avoid arrest.

Justice Christine Gordon will sum up the case this morning

Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.
Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.

before the jury retires to consider the verdicts, likely to be around noon.

Samuel Pou has confessed to police that he punched Simmonds more than 100 times around her legs one evening in early 2019 after she would not stop spilling wine but did not intend to kill her.

He buried her body in a shallow grave on the property and it was excavated about 15 months later.

Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.

Smith said Samuel Pou had seriously assaulted her twice prior to the fatal beating, and on each occasion he denied, minimised or endeavoured to justify his actions.

Due to the partly decomposed stated of Simmonds' body, he said it could not be certain which blows killed her but it didn't mean Samuel Pou did not beat her with an intention to kill her.

An assault on a former partner as well as on Simmonds suggested Samuel Pou did not have a tendency to restrict his beating to parts of the body, Smith said.

"He inflicted such injury that he knew would kill her. He shouldn't get away with it, given the evidence before the court," Smith told the jury.

Discover more

New Zealand|crime

Murder-accused gave CPR after bashing partner, court told

21 Jun 05:00 PM
New Zealand|crime

Beyond the grave: How dead woman's remains could convict her alleged killer

15 Jun 05:00 PM
New Zealand|crime

Whangārei man tells jury of 'confession' to murder

11 Jun 05:00 PM
New Zealand|crime

Bridget Simmonds murder trial: Mother tells of daughter's final visit

09 Jun 05:31 AM

The narking is in reference to an earlier assault by Pou for which he has already pleaded guilty to four charges of injuring with intent to injure and one of wounding with intent to cause grievous bodily harm.

Samuel Pou's lawyer Arthur Fairley said because his client lied to police about Simmonds' whereabouts until his confession and the fact that he assaulted her and another woman in the past did not mean he was a murderer.

He resuscitated Simmonds for 20 minutes after she stopped breathing following the assault and went to police voluntarily to make his confession, Fairley said.

"Does that not have a human ring about it? Is that consistent with a man with murderous intent?"

John Moroney, representing Te Koha Pou, said the latter admitted using Simmonds' card because he was given permission to do so either by her or Samuel Pou.

Simmonds had told Te Koha Pou what he had to buy for her and "whatever else" he needed, Moroney said.

Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.

On the accusation, he knew what had happened to Simmonds so he helped his uncle avoid arrest. Moroney asked the jury to focus on what Te Koha Pou knew at the time he took his uncle to the Wilson Rd property.

Samuel Pou had told his nephew he punched her after she tried to gouge her eyes out, he said.

Where to get help:
• 0800 543 354 (0800 LIFELINE) or free text 4357 (HELP) (available 24/7)
• https://www.lifeline.org.nz/services/suicide-crisis-helpline
• YOUTHLINE: 0800 376 633
• NEED TO TALK? Free call or text 1737 (available 24/7)
• KIDSLINE: 0800 543 754 (available 24/7)
• WHATSUP: 0800 942 8787 (1pm to 11pm)
• DEPRESSION HELPLINE: 0800 111 757 or TEXT 4202
• NATIONAL ANXIETY 24 HR HELPLINE: 0800 269 4389. If it is an emergency and you feel like you or someone else is at risk, call 111.

Save
    Share this article

Latest from Northern Advocate

Northern Advocate

‘Things are changing’: Te Pāti Māori MP suddenly removed from role, addresses Ferris' post

11 Sep 07:27 AM
Northern Advocate

Elderly couple tricked into handing over bank cards not the only people at risk: Netsafe

11 Sep 05:30 AM
Northern Advocate

'First redress': Crown move signals shift in Ngāpuhi settlement talks

11 Sep 01:37 AM

Sponsored

Kiwi campaign keeps on giving

07 Sep 12:00 PM
Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.

Latest from Northern Advocate

‘Things are changing’: Te Pāti Māori MP suddenly removed from role, addresses Ferris' post
Northern Advocate

‘Things are changing’: Te Pāti Māori MP suddenly removed from role, addresses Ferris' post

'It’s a decision made by our leadership,' says MP of her removal as TPM whip.

11 Sep 07:27 AM
Elderly couple tricked into handing over bank cards not the only people at risk: Netsafe
Northern Advocate

Elderly couple tricked into handing over bank cards not the only people at risk: Netsafe

11 Sep 05:30 AM
'First redress': Crown move signals shift in Ngāpuhi settlement talks
Northern Advocate

'First redress': Crown move signals shift in Ngāpuhi settlement talks

11 Sep 01:37 AM


Kiwi campaign keeps on giving
Sponsored

Kiwi campaign keeps on giving

07 Sep 12:00 PM
NZ Herald
  • About NZ Herald
  • Meet the journalists
  • Newsletters
  • Classifieds
  • Help & support
  • Contact us
  • House rules
  • Privacy Policy
  • Terms of use
  • Competition terms & conditions
  • Our use of AI
Subscriber Services
  • The Northern Advocate e-edition
  • Manage your print subscription
  • Manage your digital subscription
  • Subscribe to Herald Premium
  • Subscribe to the Northern Advocate
  • Gift a subscription
  • Subscriber FAQs
  • Subscription terms & conditions
  • Promotions and subscriber benefits
NZME Network
  • The Northern Advocate
  • The New Zealand Herald
  • The Northland Age
  • Waikato Herald
  • Bay of Plenty Times
  • Rotorua Daily Post
  • Hawke's Bay Today
  • Whanganui Chronicle
  • Viva
  • NZ Listener
  • Newstalk ZB
  • BusinessDesk
  • OneRoof
  • Driven Car Guide
  • iHeart Radio
  • Restaurant Hub
NZME
  • About NZME
  • NZME careers
  • Advertise with NZME
  • Digital self-service advertising
  • Book your classified ad
  • Photo sales
  • © Copyright 2025 NZME Publishing Limited
TOP