Bain's father changed clothes, says lawyer

Robin Bain changed his clothes before shooting himself so he would not have to meet his maker covered in the blood of his family, the Court of Appeal in Wellington has been told.

Lawyer Colin Withnall, QC, acting for convicted multiple-murderer David Bain, gave this as the reason for Robin Bain having no blood on himself or his clothes.

David Bain, 31, is appealing for a second time against his convictions for the June 1994 murders of his father, his mother, Margaret, his sisters, Laniet and Arawa, and his brother, Stephen, at their Dunedin home.

Bain has always claimed that his father killed the family, then committed suicide.

The Crown this week repeated evidence from the 1995 trial that David Bain was the killer and that forensic evidence, including blood on his clothes and prints throughout the house, was overwhelming evidence of his guilt.

In reply to Crown evidence yesterday, Mr Withnall said Robin Bain might have changed his clothes after killing his wife and children.

That was because of "not wanting to go to his maker with the blood of his family on him".

Crown evidence said Robin Bain was a religious man who was shot by David as he knelt in prayer about 7am on the morning of the murders.

It was alleged at the trial that Bain shot his mother and siblings before 6am, did his regular newspaper delivery run, then shot his father at prayer.

Mr Withnall said the blood on Bain's socks could have come from walking about the house while finding his family's bodies.

Earlier, he said the length of the bloody sock-prints matched Robin Bain's foot size, not his son's.

But Deputy Solicitor-General Nicola Crutchley said yesterday that Robin Bain was wearing shoes and socks when his body was found. There was no blood on them.

That led to Mr Withnall arguing that Robin Bain changed all his clothes before killing himself.

Crown evidence was that Bain told police that only he knew where the rifle's trigger lock key was kept. Mr Withnall said that was hardly consistent with the Crown case, as a guilty man would not admit that.

Justice Andrew Tipping, presiding, said that if Robin Bain did commit suicide after killing the family, it was extraordinary that he did so much to implicate David, such as leaving David's prints on the rifle, but not his own.

Mr Withnall said David Bain's prints were already on his rifle. Bain lived at the house so his prints were everywhere.

All the prosecution's forensic evidence could be explained by the fact that Bain lived there.

The appeal, which had been expected to end yesterday, has been adjourned until Tuesday so Mr Withnall can prepare a reply to some late Crown arguments.

- NZPA