Denise Michelle Davis and Quinntinn Davis appear in the High Court in Whangārei for day one of their murder trial for the death of Euan Mackey in 2023. Photo / NZME
Denise Michelle Davis and Quinntinn Davis appear in the High Court in Whangārei for day one of their murder trial for the death of Euan Mackey in 2023. Photo / NZME
The Crown says a dispute over a property led to the fatal stabbing of Mangamuka father of four Euan Mackey. Quinntinn Davis, Denise Davis and Joshua Tana are now on trial charged with his murder in March last year.
The defence claims self-defence and denies any premeditated plan to harm Mackey.
An alleged dispute over a Mangamuka property escalated into a brutal stabbing, leaving Euan Mackey bleeding to death in a driveway – an act the Crown described as “frenzied, manic”.
Now Quinntinn Davis, 51, Denise Davis, 41, and Joshua Tana, 39, are all on trial in the High Courtat Whangārei.
All three have been charged with the 59-year-old father of four’s murder, while Denise also faces possession of an offensive weapon and Tana two charges of male assaults female and one of injuring with intent to cause grievous bodily harm.
The court heard on Monday there was an alleged grievance around a whānau house in Mangamuka where Mackey’s daughter, Taygan Mackey, lived with her children.
The property in Iwitaua Rd, known as the main house, has two shared driveways with several cabins on another area of the site linked to the Davis whānau.
Tegan’s father, Euan, lived nearby with his wife, Adrianne, on SH1 while the Davises lived around the corner in Abraham Rd.
The Crown said in the weeks prior, Denise allegedly turned up at the main house, walked in unannounced and started talking to Taygan about a horse and then switched tangents to say the house belonged to the Davis whānau.
Denise also allegedly said the Mackeys were not welcome in Mangamuka and that her husband wanted to stab and kill Euan.
“With the power of hindsight, this was a warning of what was to come,” Crown prosecutor Richard Annandale said in his opening remarks.
As Denise went to leave, she allegedly told Taygan the family would be back on Saturday to get her out of the house.
Days later, Taygan felt uneasy and called her parents to come over because she had seen Denise and Quinntinn driving down the driveway.
Her mother Adrianne arrived and when Denise and Quinntinn drove past the house again, a conversation ensued around the comment made to stab Euan.
Denise denied making the comment and Quinntinn allegedly told Taygan not to be afraid and that nothing would happen.
The conversation was recorded on a phone and will be played to the jury at a later stage.
On the weekend of March 1, 2024, the Davises had a family event where some people, including Denise, Quinntinn and Tana, were drinking over the course of two days.
Two days later, Euan noticed the gate to the main house had been padlocked shut, and he cut it with an angle grinder so his daughter could access her house.
Euan Mackey, 59, was a father of four and grandfather of six.
Annandale said later that evening, while the Mackeys were getting Taygan’s children ready for bed, the Davises and their nephew turned up to the house with weapons “looking for confrontation”.
With young children in the house, Annandale told the jury what happened next could only be described as “frenzied, manic”.
Annandale alleged Quinntinn stabbed Euan five times in the neck, back and other areas.
During the attack, Adrianne and Taygan were allegedly assaulted by Tana as they tried to protect Euan before he proceeded to kick Euan in the head.
“After committing their unlawful acts, they got back in their vehicles and drove away into the night, leaving Mr Mackey bleeding to death and Mr Mackey’s family in a state of despair.”
As they got in the car, Denise was alleged to have said to her husband, “that’s it baby, you did it baby”.
The incident was recorded in a 19-second video that was played to the court on Monday.
Given the remote location in the Mangamukas and the fact the main access road, the Mangamuka Gorge, was closed, by the time emergency services arrived it was clear Mackey was dead.
Euan died at the remote Iwitaua Rd in the Far North. Photo / Google Maps
“Quite frankly, there was nothing they could do to save Mr Mackey,” Annandale said.
While Quinntinn is considered the principal offender, the Crown says Denise and Tana are equally guilty.
“Someone who helps the principal offender to commit the offence or encourages, lends their support to the principal offender’s commission of offence, is also and equally guilty of the criminal offence,” Annandale said.
Self-defence: ‘He acted instinctively’
Quinntinn’s lawyer, Nicola Manning, told the jury her client does not deny he was at the address with the knife.
Manning said the footage did not show the lead-up to the stabbing in which Quinntinn will allege he was attacked and therefore acted in self-defence.
“He says when he stabs Mr Mackey he was first attacked by him. He acted instinctively from the attack.
“The footage is not the full story,” Manning said.
Denise’s lawyer, Julie Young, said she did not know her husband had a knife and the offence was “spur of the moment”.
“Denise is neither a party to a plan or a party any other way. She did have a knife, but she had no intention to use it as a harmful purpose. She certainly didn’t want to encourage, assist or incite,” Young said.
Tana’s lawyer, Sumudu Thode, said in opening statements he, too, never participated in a plan to murder Euan.
Thode said her client never intended to cause serious harm to Euan when he kicked him.
The trial is expected to run for three weeks before Justice Christine Gordon.
Shannon Pitman is a Whangārei-based reporter for Open Justice covering courts in the Te Tai Tokerau region. She is of Ngāpuhi, Ngāti Pūkenga descent and has worked in digital media for the past five years. She joined NZME in 2023.
