Michael Murray appears in the Auckland High Court accused of murdering Connor Morris. Photo / Jason Oxenham, NZ Herald
Michael Murray appears in the Auckland High Court accused of murdering Connor Morris. Photo / Jason Oxenham, NZ Herald
The first day of the trial of the man accused of murdering Connor Morris has finished with evidence about the one of the parties taking place on Don Buck Rd the night he died.
Mr Morris was at his sister's housewarming party when he became embroiled in a street fight with people from a 21st birthday gathering down the road. During the fracas Michael Murray allegedly murdered Mr Morris by striking him with a large gardening tool, described in court as a sickle, but looking more like a manual weed whacker.
This afternoon the jury at the High Court at Auckland heard from the woman who organised the 21st party.
Iesha Teiho lived at 403c Don Buck Rd with her brother Trevor Morunga, 17. She organised a 21st party for another brother, Jason, and his girlfriend, who share a birthday, and invited a number of people including Murray and his younger brother Stan.
Guests started to arrive at about 7pm and started drinking alcohol. Miss Teiho said later in the night some partygoers started to get aggressive. Her brothers had been play-fighting in the garage but things became more serious later on when her cousin Shamus Wira "growled at' Mr Morunga and punched him.
The Crown alleges that soon after this, Mr Morunga and other partygoers chanced across a group of men walking on the road. They had come from a housewarming party at the home of Connor Morris' sister, Cymmion.
Mr Morunga "kicked out" at one of the men in the other group, sparking an altercation. Someone ran back to the housewarming party to get help and Mr Morris came to the street. He was killed soon after.
Miss Teiho did not see the fatal fight and the first she heard of it was when police came to her home.
Police asked her to leave the house, now part of the homicide investigation crime scene, and she walked with Mr Morunga to a nearby petrol station.
Mr Morunga told his sister that something had happened on Don Buck Rd. He said a group of guys from another party had wanted to start a fight with him and his mates and he "kicked some boy". The other group went away, but returned with some Head Hunters gang members.
"He said Mike (Murray) hit someone with a bamboo stick," she told the court.
Mr Morunga will be called as a witness later this week.
"It was a bit like a war zone"
Earlier this afternoon Henderson-based Detective Constable Shaun Galbraith gave evidence. Mr Galbraith was sent to Don Buck Rd shortly after Mr Morris was fatally struck.
When he got there he was told a man had been wounded and had been loaded into an ambulance which was about to head to Auckland City Hospital.
The scene was "chaotic" with much yelling and screaming.
The jury were shown photographs and maps of the section of Don Buck Rd where the alleged murder took place. Mr Galbraith, who was the officer in charge of the scene, pointed out key areas to help familiarise jurors with the location.
Outbursts from the gallery
Before proceedings restarted, Justice Wylie reminded those in the public gallery, including members of the Morris family, to keep quiet.
He said there had been a number of noisy reactions to Crown and defence openings - oohs, aahs and gasps - which were inappropriate.He told the jury to disregard any such behaviour and warned the public that further incidents would result in the person responsible being excluded from the trial.
He told the jury to approach him if they felt there was any attempt from a member of the public to "influence'' their decision.
Earlier the Crown and defence gave opening addresses.
Crown prosecutor David Johnstone addressed the jury first.
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"On this day one year ago, in a situation where there was a street fight about to start or perhaps just starting, that man in the dock went and got from his property a weapon," he said in his opening address.
He produced the weapon Murray allegedly used - a large sickle with a wooden handle.
Mr Morris' family gasped loudly. His mother Julie buried her face in her hands, sobbing. His father Chris looked stunned.
Mr Johnstone carried on: "Mr Murray swung the weapon with some force at the head of another man, Connor Morris, point first. The point and the blade of the sickle entered the side of Mr Morris' head just behind his left ear."
Mr Johnstone said the force was such that it fractured Mr Morris' skull and pushed his brain stem to the right side of his head. The sickle went 5cm into Mr Morris' head.
"The damage was so severe and so immediate that Mr Morris seems to have died almost instantly, perhaps before he hit the ground," said Mr Johnstone.
He said the Crown would present DNA evidence proving Murray was the one to swing the sickle at Mr Morris.
He said DNA found on the blade of the sickle was 6 million times more likely to be from Mr Morris' than from anyone else. DNA found on the handle was 5 million times more likely to be Murray's than from another person.
Mr Johnstone then described the lead-up to the alleged murder.
Two parties were being held on Don Buck Rd in Massey. One was a housewarming for Mr Morris' sister Cymmion, and the other a 21st at the property where Murray lived in a sleepout. The 21st was for one of his relatives.
Mr Johnstone said there was a considerable amount of drinking at the 21st party and aggression started rising. Play-fighting between partygoers began to get out of hand.
As they began to get upset with each other, some decided to leave. A group of young men gathered at the top of the driveway and Mr Johnson said Murray joined them.
The housewarming was also in full swing, with "plenty of alcohol, some music, some good times" but not the level of aggression displayed at the other party.
A number of patched Head Hunters gang members were at the party including Mr Morris' father. His mother was also there.
"The Head Hunters that were there were real people with human frailties alongside human qualities, just like us," Mr Johnstone said.
He urged jurors to put aside their personal feelings about the gang and its lifestyle and look at the evidence calmly and dispassionately.
If the jury thought the gang connection had a bearing on Murray's thought process on the night of the murder, they should consider it. If not, they should disregard it, he said.
He said Mr Morris was off to the side of the street fight and barely involved. Even if he was fighting, he was not armed.
He described how Ms Elder-Holmes saw her partner of seven years being hit and collapsing. She ran to him and held him in her arms - but he was already dead.
Mr Johnstone said the Crown would prove Murray had murderous intent and that his use of the sickle was far beyond any reasonable form of self-defence.
"It is quite clear... he felt the need to bash someone," he said.
"Whatever degree of threat that Michael Murray thought he and his friends were facing, he was not acting to defend himself or any of his friends when he came straight in with a sickle and felled a man who was involved, at best, in a fist fight.
Mr Johnstone said to go in with such a weapon and use the force he did against a man who was not armed was not reasonable and Murray could not claim self-defence.
"The Crown case, put simply, is Michael Murray was just not defending himself or anyone else."
Defence claim events were in self-defence
Defence lawyer Marie Dyhrberg then addressed the jury.
"Do not make the mistake of thinking that because Michael Murray is sitting here, that he is there for doing something wrong," she said.
"The reason he is there is because on August 3 last year (he) struck Connor Morris with this garden tool that we have seen, this sickle, and in so... caused Connor Morris' death.
"However, whether he is culpable by law... is a matter for you as the jury."
Ms Dyhrberg said Murray was innocent until proven guilty and only the Crown could prove his guilt. Her client did not have to disprove the murder charge.
"He accepts that it was him (who hit Mr Morris) and he did so when one of those on the road was being badly assaulted by this group from (Cymmion Morris' party).
She said the fight was raging, not just starting, when Murray retreated to get a weapon.
He came back to find Mr Morris beating his younger brother.
He claims he was waving the sickle around merely to try and scare Mr Morris off. He was worried for his brother and was trying to protect him, Ms Dyhrberg said.
"Michael Murray had made it clear at the beginning of this incident that he did not want any trouble and when he saw Connor Morris assaulting his brother he still tried to placate and soothe the situation.
"He said to Mr Morris 'that's my brother please don't hurt him'. But Connor Morris was not listening - he kept going. So, Michael Murray acted. He swung the sickle with no real thought of what he was doing.
"At the time he was just wanting to do something to stop what he saw as a bad attack on his little brother. The sickle struck Connor Morris once - that was enough to stop the assault.
"As soon as Connor Morris dropped, that was it."
Ms Dyhrberg said Murray did not mean to kill Mr Morris.
"Michael Murray did no more. He achieved the one thing that he wanted, he had stopped the attack on his brother. Nothing more.
"This is a case of the big brother defending the little brother. It is a case of defence of another."
Ms Dyhrberg appealed to the jury to keep an open mind through the trial and consider all the evidence before making a decision.
The trial continues this afternoon.
Jury urged to put aside sympathy or prejudice
Justice Edwin Wylie reminded the jury it was for the Crown to prove Murray's guilt beyond reasonable doubt. He urged them to put aside any sympathy or prejudice they might have - including any feelings they had about gangs, given Mr Morris' connection to the Head Hunters - and decide the case purely on the basis that the Crown had proven its case.
He said there had been "extensive media coverage" of Mr Morris' death but directed the jury to "put it entirely out of your minds."
"Avoid watching, listening and reading any media coverage... any such coverage will be selective and will not cover everything.
"Mr Murray is entitled to fair trial ... based solely on what you hear in this courtroom."
Earlier today the jury of eight men and four women were selected.
Murray, wearing a blue checked shirt and black pants, was brought into court by three security guards who remained in the dock alongside him as the trial began. He appeared nervous as he stood to hear the charge read.
When asked how he pleaded, Murray answered softly "not guilty".
Mr Morris' parents sat in the front row of the public gallery with Cymmion. Other family and friends were in court to support them.
Security was tight at the court building, with everyone screened on entry, which is unusual.
Before the trial began, police carried a number of large white file boxes into Courtroom 14.
Exhibits have also been brought into the courtroom, including two weapons in plastic display cases and items of clothing - tracksuit pants and a black hoodie - displayed on large sheets of card.
• The trial will start at 10am but only run half a day due to a juror having an important medical appointment in the afternoon.
• Connor Morris' parents Chris and Julie Morris and other members of his family will return to court.
• Crown witnesses will include people who were at 403c Don Buck Rd at a 21st birthday party, near where Mr Morris and his family were celebrating a housewarming at 425.
• 45 witnesses are to be called, tomorrow's first witness will be the 6th on that list.
