Rajinder is on trial at the High Court at Dunedin. Photo / RNZ/Nate McKinnon
By Tess Brunton of RNZ
A man is accused of stabbing a former employee more than 40 times in what appears to be an attempted decapitation, a court has heard.
The 35-year-old man accused of the murder, who is listed in court documents only as Rajinder, is on trial at the High Court at Dunedin.
The body of Gurjit Singh, 27, was found covered in blood on the lawn of his Dunedin home in January last year.
The defence claimed Rajinder had no reason to kill his former employee and there was no animosity between them.
Prosecutor Robin Bates said Rajinder left DNA evidence at the scene including hair and multiple blood stains around the house.
“The post-mortem indicated that the deceased died from multiple sharp force injuries, at least 46 in total, including a large inevitably fatal wound to the neck which gave the impression of attempted decapitation,” Bates said.
There were wounds to the victim’s head, neck, torso and arms.
The defendant and victim had moved from India to New Zealand some years ago, and ended up working as contractors in Dunedin by 2023.
Singh had originally worked for Rajinder before going out on his own and purchasing one of Rajinder’s vans, Bates said.
In mid-2023, Singh bought his home on Hillary St and had travelled back to India the same year to get married.
Bates told the court Singh attended a pizza party in Helensburgh on the night of January 28, 2024.
A witness said he arrived about 9pm.
He stayed about an hour and appeared in a good mood.
When the witness tried to contact him the next morning about a concrete cutter, Singh did not reply.
The witness was contacted by a friend who said Singh’s wife had been trying to contact him for three hours but could not get hold of him.
Bates said when the friend went to check on him, he found Singh’s body on the front lawn covered in blood with severe cuts to his neck.
He called 111, tried to perform CPR and waited for emergency services to arrive.
The house was examined with blood found in multiple spots across the dining room, lounge, outside steps and on the walls.
A large window was broken with glass shards on the ground.
Bates said some blood samples from the scene indicated it was the defendant’s DNA and bloodstains found in the defendant’s vehicle matched the victim’s DNA.
“Numerous blood stains, but in particular those from the carpet in the dining room area, from the back of a curtain, on the couch in the lounge, a wall area, a pavement and the roadway corresponded with the defendant’s reference DNA profile,” he said.
Rajinder first told police he did not know about the death and had taken his wife for a driving lesson about midnight for about an hour on the night in question, Bates said.
The interviewing police officer asked him about a cut on his left hand between his thumb and forefinger, and Rajinder said it happened when a chain came loose on a chainsaw.
But a few days later when he was interviewed again, Bates said Rajinder told police he had lied and it was from a bike accident, but he did not go to the hospital because it would take too long and then he got scared he might be connected to the death.
When confronted about blood containing his DNA being found at the scene, he said it was impossible and denied killing Singh, Bates said.
A piece of glove from a pair Rajinder had bought around the time of the murder was also found at the scene, Bates said.
A knife and neck gaiter he had bought from Hunting and Fishing around the same time could not be found.
His clothing from the night was also not found.
Defence lawyer Katy Barker said Rajinder did not kill Singh and there was no enmity or animosity between them.
The defence accepted Singh was murdered and whoever attacked him must have had murderous intent, but it was not Rajinder, Barker said.
There was no grievance between the two and they had a good relationship, she said.
Rajinder had built a good life in Dunedin and it did not make sense for him to blow it up, Barker said.
The trial is set down for three weeks.
- RNZ