Christchurch murder trial told of drug sale hours before David Bridgwater shot dead

James Arthur Holder is accused of murdering David Bridgwater (inset) in Aranui, Christchurch, on January 4, 2024.

A court has heard of a drug sale hours before a man was shot dead during a night out in Christchurch.

David Bridgwater had been partying at the Juicy Festival in QEII Park and continued into the early hours when things took a turn for the worse.

It ended on the morning of January 4, 2024, when the 38-year-old was found on Carisbrooke St, Aranui, lying beside his car, which was still running.

He had been shot and died at the scene.

James Arthur Holder, 55, is on trial before a jury in the High Court at Christchurch charged with Bridgwater’s murder.

Holder doesn’t deny shooting Bridgwater outside the Aranui address but claims it was in self-defence.

The Crown alleges Holder had intent when he shot Bridgwater in the abdomen.

On the trial’s second day, the court heard Bridgwater was with a woman he had met outside the festival when they were asked by her relative if they could get him cannabis or ecstasy.

In a statement read to the court, the relative said he agreed to meet them across town in Riccarton where he bought the drugs from her.

James Arthur Holder is accused of murdering David Bridgwater.

He said Bridgwater was in the car with her and another woman when the transaction took place.

The man said he was told the drugs could have come from Carisbrooke St.

A police interview with the woman, who has name suppression, was played to the court today.

She said Bridgwater approached her outside the concert and she and another woman got into his car.

They went to a Carisbrooke St property to get drugs then delivered them to her cousin, she said.

Afterwards, she said Bridgwater had intended to go home but plans changed and they returned to Carisbrooke St.

They mingled in the garage with others, including Holder, when she observed Bridgwater being a “bit rude” to one of the residents.

David Bridgwater was found dead outside his car on Carisbrooke St, Aranui, in Christchurch. Photo / Facebook

The resident became annoyed at that point and told Bridgwater to behave himself before he was eventually told to leave the property.

She said Holder followed Bridgwater out of the property with what appeared to be a firearm.

Then an altercation ensued and Holder shot Bridgwater in the abdomen with a .22-calibre firearm.

Police search the Avon River during their investigation into the death of David Bridgwater. Photo / George Heard

She was asked by police who had shot Bridgwater.

She said she couldn’t be certain because “I never saw who killed him”.

Earlier on Tuesday the jury saw security camera footage from the property of people yelling and scrambling, while cars arrived and left as people assisted Bridgwater.

Holder was heard yelling, “F*** sake, get outside”, while a woman yelled, “He’s been run over by a car”.

Holder is alleged to have left the scene and driven to an associate’s home and then the red zone before disposing of the gun.

First responders unsuccessfully tried to revive Bridgwater, who was pronounced dead about 2.43am.

Police intercepted Holder’s phone calls in the following weeks and he was arrested and charged on February 2, 2024.

The trial is being heard by Justice Lisa Preston and is set down for five weeks.

The Crown is expected to call 51 witnesses.

Al Williams is an Open Justice reporter for the New Zealand Herald, based in Christchurch. He has worked in daily and community titles in New Zealand and overseas for the last 16 years. Most recently he was editor of the Hauraki-Coromandel Post, based in Whangamatā. He was previously deputy editor of the Cook Islands News.