Lower Hutt stabbing: Chaotic scenes as men and dog stabbed, trial under way

Shane Watson in the Wellington District Court on November 19, 2024. Photo / Catherine Hutton

Chaotic scenes on the front lawn of a Lower Hutt house during a fight involving hockey sticks, a knife and possibly a sickle, left one man in intensive care and a pitbull cross with fatal injuries.

A jury in the Wellington District Court is being asked to decide who the aggressor was that fateful February evening. Was it the homeowner Tom Robinson or his visitor Shane Watson?

Watson, who was charged over the incident, denies wounding with intent to cause grievous bodily harm to Robinson and the ill treatment of his dog, a pitbull cross called Buddy. He claims he acted in self-defence.

The two men are connected through a woman called Rachel Metcalf, who dated Robinson for about two and half years.. They separated shortly before the incident and Watson was her new boyfriend.

The Crown’s case is that the fight started earlier this year after Watson pulled a knife on Robinson as he stood at his front door. When Robinson asked what he was doing, Watson allegedly stabbed him and Buddy.

Prosecutor Sebastian Hartley told the jury Robinson was at home with his daughter and had arranged for Metcalf to come over with her new boyfriend, Watson. Robinson understood Watson wouldn’t be coming inside the house.

When they arrived Robinson let Metcalf inside, but told Watson he couldn’t come in and locked the front door. As they sat together in the kitchen, they heard Watson banging on the front door.

Metcalf went to speak to him and when she returned, he asked if she’d locked the door. Fearing she hadn’t, he went to check it. He saw Watson standing at the door holding a knife.

Robinson told them both to leave, at which point Watson allegedly lunged at Robinson with a knife.

“Events became chaotic. Everyone was involved, including Mr Robinson’s daughter, who by this point had come to see what was going on, was shouting and yelling. Mr Robinson’s dog, Buddy, also became involved,” Hartley said.

The chaos continued. In the course of the fight, the Crown said Watson stabbed Robinson twice, in the back of the neck and the shoulder. He was also cut on the arm and finger. In turn, Robinson allegedly struck Watson over the head and shoulders with a hockey stick.

Buddy bit both Robinson and Watson, before allegedly being stabbed by Watson.

The parties retreated - Metcalf and Watson to their car, Robinson and Buddy inside the house.

Robinson left the house to get help, first trying the pub before going to a friend’s place. He didn’t see a doctor immediately but was later prescribed antibiotics for dog bites.

Meanwhile, police found Metcalf giving Watson first aid at a nearby service station. Watson spent several days in intensive care and suffered fractures to his ribs, elbow and head. He needed surgery to repair nerve and muscle damage on his arm.

Buddy was taken to a vet, but didn’t survive his injuries.

When police searched the house they found a black-handled foldout knife and three hockey sticks.

Shane Watson in the Wellington District Court on November 19, 2024.

‘You can’t admit that can you, because that would make you the aggressor?’

Watson’s lawyer, Shane Robinson (no relation) offered the jury a different scenario, telling the jury Metcalf had arranged the visit so Robinson could inject her with drugs. But because Metcalf didn’t bring the right drugs, that didn’t happen.

He suggested to Robinson that Watson only started banging on the front door when he heard Metcalf yelling from the kitchen. Robinson agreed Metcalf had yelled in the kitchen.

But he rejected the suggestion the two men had fought in the kitchen, before he had ordered Watson and Metcalf to leave, striking Watson from behind as he walked to the door.

The lawyer also challenged Robinson’s claim that he had tripped on his jeans and fallen while outside.

“Buddy had him by the leg, you went out, with an implement that had a wooden handle and a sharp blade, it was a stick type thing with a blade,” Shane said.

Robinson denied carrying the object outside but said he had picked something up “when I thought I was dying”.

The lawyer said Watson was trying to move back when Robinson ran at him, swung the object over his head and tried to strike him several times. Watson reached into the car and got the knife.

“I never seen him go to the car at all,” Robinson replied, denying the defence’s version of events.

“While you and your daughter and the dog were attacking Shane Watson he managed to get a knife out of the car and that’s when he stabbed the dog ... he stabbed the dog twice.”

“You were hitting him, that’s when he stabbed you, after he’d stabbed the dog,” the lawyer said.

“No,” Robinson replied.

“You can’t admit that can you? Because that would make you the aggressor.”

Robinson denied he was the aggressor.

He also denied he was violent saying he only resorted to violence when provoked.

The lawyer also took issue with Robinson’s varying accounts to the police and the court, noting the description of the knife and the hand he said Watson was holding it in had changed. Robinson also told the court he now accepted Watson had significant injuries to his arms, after earlier telling police he didn’t.

“Mr Robinson you struck Shane Watson with a sharp object, heavy enough to cause significant damage to his arm,” the lawyer said.

Robinson suggested the arm injuries may have been the result of Watson hurting himself.

“Are you seriously suggesting that cut he’s done to himself with a serrated knife,” the lawyer replied.

Robinson’s daughter denied a weapon like a sickle or machete was used that day and told the court the police hadn’t found one, despite extensive searches of the house.

She said her father’s broken ribs, prevented him from striking someone from above and she couldn’t have attacked Watson because she had a broken foot at the time.

The trial before Judge Michael Mika is expected to continue this week.

Catherine Hutton is an Open Justice reporter, based in Wellington. She has worked as a journalist for 20 years, including at the Waikato Times and RNZ. Most recently she was working as a media adviser at the Ministry of Justice.