Court told of execution-style shot in head

Joseph Rewiri

A feud between two men who once enjoyed tinkering with cars and motorbikes together ended when one shot the other dead in front of Rotorua's International Stadium.

Joseph Russell Rewiri allegedly murdered Peter "Porky" Franklyn on a frosty May morning last year, shooting him in the groin, chest and head in front of almost 20 passersby.

Some witnesses fled on hearing the shots, while others allegedly watched Rewiri crouch down and fire the final bullet into the top of the unconscious Mr Franklyn's head.

The High Court at Rotorua yesterday heard that Rewiri and Mr Franklyn had been friends but the relationship soured in 1999, when Rewiri became convinced Mr Franklyn had slept with his partner.

As a result, Rewiri assaulted Mr Franklyn in a garage over several hours, extracting a taped confession that he called "Porky Unplugged" and played to mutual acquaintances to humiliate Mr Franklyn. The following year, Rewiri also shot at Mr Franklyn, hitting him with a number of bullets.

Mr Franklyn and his wife complained to police, and the two incidents became the subject of a trial in 2002 in which they testified against Rewiri, who was found guilty.

Then, on May 31 last year, the two men chanced upon each other while travelling in opposite directions along a Rotorua road.

The pair began what crown prosecutor Fletcher Pilditch described as a "game of cat and mouse" in their vehicles, Rewiri chasing Mr Franklyn at times, and at other times, Mr Franklyn doing the chasing.

They collided twice before crashing in front of the stadium, where a group of rugby academy players were training.

Rewiri, 39, allegedly emerged from his Toyota Landcruiser wielding a loaded semiautomatic pistol, with the safety catch off.

He shot 43-year-old Mr Franklyn three times.

By this time, Mr Franklyn was down on the ground and unconscious, and Rewiri allegedly leaned over him and shot him in the crown of the head at "contact or close contact range".

The court was told he kicked Mr Franklyn in the head and body and told witnesses they should "call the cops", then ran away. He was arrested a short time later at his home.

The shooting was over in seconds and Mr Franklyn never regained consciousness, dying two days later after being taken off a ventilator.

During his opening, Mr Pilditch played a recorded message from the cellphone of Mr Franklyn's wife, Carolyn, which he said catalogued the last minutes of Mr Franklyn's life.

The recording was muffled but near the end were a few words, which the Herald understood to be "No, f*** off man", and which Mr Pilditch said was Mr Franklyn begging for his life.

Rewiri's lawyer, Philip Morgan, QC, said his client did not dispute that he had shot and killed Mr Franklyn, but central to the defence would be the history between the two men.

Mr Morgan said the killing happened after some "very provocative actions" by Mr Franklyn and the jury would have to decide "who was frightened of whom" and whether Rewiri was "actually responding to threats to his life".

It was also in dispute whether Rewiri had kneeled down to deliver the fatal shot to Mr Franklyn's head.

The trial before Justice Rodney Hansen is expected to last three weeks, with the prosecution planning to call 62 witnesses.

Rewiri has pleaded not guilty to murder, and possession of a Mauser semiautomatic pistol and 31 .32ACP calibre bullets.