Tony Waldron was found dead in his bed on September 18, 2019. Photo / Facebook
A dairy farmer has described the gruesome moment he found his badly-bashed co-worker dead in his bed after he uncharacteristically failed to show up for early morning milking.
Tony Grant Waldron, 29, was discovered dead at his Gardiners Rd, Rakaia farmhouse, 45 minutes south of Christchurch, on September 18, 2019.
After a massive homicide investigation codenamed "Operation Gardiner", Waldron's estranged wife Alana Jane Bamber, 35, and her cousin, Joshua Dylan Morris-Bamber, 28, were charged with murder.
They deny murdering Waldron or having any part in his death and are standing trial at the High Court in Christchurch.
Today, the second-in-charge at Waldron's dairy farm gave evidence, and spoke about the close friendship he enjoyed with his workmate, who he called a "lovely guy".
Tysen Guthrie spent a normal shift with Waldron the previous day, "having a laugh, talking s*** like always" and as they parted, he said: "See you in the morning bro".
But when Waldron was a no-show at 5.30am milking, which was "very unusual", Guthrie tried phoning him, and then telling his bosses.
One of them went to Waldron's house but didn't enter after his dogs bailed him up at the gate.
Since Guthrie knew the dogs well, he was asked to go and see if Waldron was okay.
He jumped on his motorbike about 8.30am, he told the court, and rode to the property.
On arrival, he found the door wide open and the lights on.
Guthrie ventured inside and went to Waldron's bedroom.
He stood at the doorway and saw his friend in his bed. He yelled out "Tony!".
"I seen [sic] Tony propped up in his bed and I could tell immediately that he was dead," Guthrie told the court.
He described Waldron topless and very swollen and bruised around his head and neck, with blood down the side of his neck.
"It wasn't a very nice sight," he said.
After just five to 10 seconds, he left the house on his motorbike and returned to the milking shed.
He told his bosses that "Tony was gone".
Waldron had gone to bed the night before about 12.56am after playing online video game Fortnite with a mate, the court heard earlier.
The Crown says Bamber encouraged her cousin Morris-Bamber to seriously assault Waldron, who she claimed had been having an affair with her bridesmaid, to "teach him a lesson".
It's alleged that Morris-Bamber drove for about 45 minutes south on State Highway 1 to Waldron's farm, with cellphone data and CCTV from NZ Transport Agency cameras plotting his movements.
His car, the Crown says, was captured passing a golf course going in the direction of Gardiners Rd at 12.56am.
The same car is seen passing the same golf course again, heading back to Rakaia, at 1.04am.
With driving time, the Crown says Morris-Bamber had "at least four minutes" at Waldron's house, which they say was "ample time" to go inside and fatally assault him while he was sleeping.
A post-mortem examination suggests Waldron was struck by a solid weapon at least three times on the side of his head, ear and neck.
Waldron suffered a fractured skull – dislodging a 4cm x 2cm fragment of bone - along with other multiple cracks and a broken jaw.
Morris-Bamber left at speed, the Crown claims, stopping briefly to hide "forensically important items" like the murder weapon and bloodied clothing that he would later allegedly move again. They would never be found, the court heard.
His defence counsel, Anne Stevens KC, says the Crown's alleged four-minute window where he is supposed to have murdered Waldron in his sleep is "simply not credible".
The trial, before Justice Gerald Nation, continues.