Lance Hall found guilty for murder of Jason McNae in Whangārei stabbing

The Crown case against Lance Hall, pictured in court at Whangārei, centred on CCTV that captured the murder of Jason McNae (inset). Photo / NZME

After two weeks of evidence revolving around crucial CCTV footage of a stabbing, a jury unanimously found the man’s killer guilty, reaching their verdict in just under two hours.

Lance Hall, 51, has been on trial at the High Court in Whangārei for two weeks for the murder of 24-year-old Jason McNae after an incident at a block of flats in Morningside, Whangārei.

The jury retired to consider their verdict at around 4.30pm on Thursday but by 5pm, requested to go home for the evening and returned at 9.30am on Friday.

About 10.50am the jury signalled they had reached their decision and the verdicts were announced in court, with whānau of McNae looking relieved, the verdict taking them one step closer to the end of an emotional court case.

The jury also found Hall guilty of one charge of assault on his flatmate, Cody Rudolph and one charge of threats to kill or cause grievous bodily harm to McNae’s partner, Courtney Rapata.

The court heard how Hall had been staying with a woman at the flats when things deteriorated in April 2023, when he requested to move in with Rudolph, whom he had only just met.

Rudolph allowed the 51-year-old to stay, however, he said the arrangement did not work and he gave evidence of two alleged incidents leading up to the fatal stabbing.

In the first, he said Hall had punched him and exposed himself several weeks prior. A week after that there was another altercation in the flat in which he alleged Hall told him he would “stab you up”.

On the evening of the stabbing, Rudolph said he had thrown the access card to the building down to Hall, who was in the carpark however Hall began to make a scene that he could not find the card.

Rudolph went downstairs and Hall hit him in the face.

Rudolph said he called his ex-partner, Courtney Rapata, to ask for a cousin’s phone number for assistance and when McNae overheard Rudolph needed help, offered to assist to have Hall removed from his flat.

After arriving at the flats McNae, Rapata and friend Boston Tahitahi went upstairs to check on Rudolph and Hall followed them.

He then turned and stabbed McNae, who was behind him, in the neck with a pair of scissors, leaving two wounds, one 6.5cm deep and cutting through a jugular vein.

McNae passed away a short time later.

Police outside the block of flats at Anzac Rd, Morningside, where McNae was fatally stabbed. Photo / NZME

It was the defence case that Hall was acting in self-defence and had been beaten by a group of four people and swung out at McNae with the scissors but did not intend to kill him.

In closing statements, Crown lawyer Bernadette O’Connor said Hall had an ever-evolving story that was not true.

“The only life-threatening violence was to Jason McNae. There was nothing for him to defend himself against.

“Lance Hall did kill Jason McNae, it was not in self-defence and it was an act intended in knowing it would kill Mr McNae,” O’Connor said.

Defence lawyer Ron Mansfield QC quoted Oscar Wilde in his closing submissions that “the truth is rarely pure and simple” and it was clear Hall was not very well liked at the block of flats.

“The reality is that people can do stupid things and make a decision to do something entirely stupid and take someone’s life but without that forethought, without intention, without motive.

“The Crown doesn’t have to prove a motive but an intention,” Mansfield submitted.

In the end, the jury agreed the Crown had proved Hall committed the offence with murderous intent and the conviction was entered by Justice Grant Powell.

Hall was found not guilty of one charge of threats to kill against Rudolph and convicted of assault on Rudolph and threats to kill Rapata.

He will be sentenced on December 17 in the High Court at Whangārei.

Shannon Pitman is a Whangārei based reporter for Open Justice covering courts in the Te Tai Tokerau region. She is of Ngāpuhi/ Ngāti Pūkenga descent and has worked in digital media for the past five years. She joined NZME in 2023.