Bain team challenges vital timings

Lawyers for David Bain have argued that crucial timings in the murder case against him are wrong, as the author of a haunting computer message was debated in the High Court.

Crown prosecutors trying the case against Bain, 36, for the murder of his family, say it was he who typed the message: "Sorry you are the only one who deserved to stay" on the family computer on the morning of the killings, in order to frame his father Robin.

But Bain's defence team yesterday questioned a computer expert over the time the computer was turned on in an effort to show Bain could not have done it. They will say he was still completing his paper run.

Bain is facing a retrial in Christchurch, accused of shooting dead his parents and three siblings on the morning of June 20, 1994, but the defence say it was Robin who killed four of his family before turning the rifle on himself.

The court heard yesterday from police about dozens of rounds of .22 ammunition, including a near-full cartridge belt, found in Bain's wardrobe.

A .22 rifle used in the killings was found next Robin's body, whom the defence say could have got access to it.

Martin Cox, a computer adviser at Otago University in 1994, was asked by police to examine the computer.

The time the message was written cannot be proven, but the time the computer switched on can be. Mr Cox saved the message to the computer's hard disc when he examined the computer on the afternoon of June 21.

The computer's clock was not set properly when he saved the message, so Mr Cox noted the time on the watch of Detective Kevin Anderson, who was with him.

Mr Cox was able to calculate the difference between the time the computer was switched on and the time he understood he saved the message.

This gave a time difference of 31 hours and 32 minutes. From this, Mr Cox calculated the computer would have been switched on at 6.44am on the day of the killings.

However, questioned by Bain's lawyer Michael Reed QC, Mr Cox conceded that the time on Mr Anderson's watch was later found by police to be an estimated two minutes fast.

This would have made the time of the computer being turned on 6.42am.

Mr Cox agreed with Mr Reed that as a result the jury in the first murder trial was misled.

He also faced questioning over how long it took him to save the message on the computer, as this could further affect the timing the computer was turned on. Mr Cox said it could have taken up to three minutes, but Bain's defence team are arguing it would have only taken a matter of seconds.

Giving evidence on Bain's bedroom, Mr Anderson said police found a receipt for a .22 rifle purchased by Bain, a bullet belt and a cleaning kit.

Also found in the wardrobe were at least 20 boxes of ammunition and a cartridge belt with 47 rounds of the 51 capacity.

Blood spots were found on the underside of a duvet on David's bed, Mr Anderson said.

Glasses without lenses were taken from a chair, along with a single lens. Another glass lens, wrapped in paper, was take by police from a bookshelf.

Lenses are important, because police say one was found in the room of Bain's brother Stephen, where a struggle appeared to have taken place.
The case continues.