Murder trial: Did Ike Kingi shoot Bob Kleiman by mistake or was it intentional?

Ike Kingi is on trial for the murder of Bob Kleiman in Whangārei two years ago. Photo / NZME

An accidental shooting or the intentional killing of a man who Ike Kingi says was a friend?

That’s the question a jury will need to decide at a trial in the High Court at Whangārei, where Kingi is accused of murdering Bob Kleiman by shooting him in the head at close range in a house in Whangārei on October 26, 2022.

CCTV captured Kingi, who was then 42, his partner Leonie Farrell and an associate, Stacy Jamieson, at the Onerahi crime scene before and after the shooting. All three allegedly fled in Farrell’s Nissan Navara ute.

The court heard the landlord found Kleiman, 56, dead the next day in the living room. He was lying on his back with one gunshot wound to the right side of his mouth exiting the rear of his head.

The Crown said the trio then allegedly came up with the “accident narrative” that the gun had gone off as Kingi sat down and he had panicked and left.

CCTV also captured Jamieson returning to the property, where the Crown alleges he tampered with evidence by placing a mat over a pool of blood and disposing of the firearm.

Farrell allegedly took Kingi up north and attempted to have two witnesses retract statements.

Farrell faces one charge of accessory after the fact to murder and two charges of perverting the course of justice. Jamieson faces one charge of perverting the course of justice.

The trio pleaded not guilty to all charges, with Kingi’s defence team submitting he would never intend to cause harm to a man he considered a friend.

‘Bob asked if I wanted to see the gun’

When Kingi was interviewed by Constable Arvin Broderick, he refused to do a recorded evidential interview, providing a written statement instead in the presence of his lawyer, Martin Hislop.

Broderick gave evidence that Kingi was withdrawn and difficult to engage with. The constable read the defendant’s statement to the court.

The statement said Kingi was at the house in Onerahi doing renovations because he and Farrell were planning to move in.

Kingi said he was inside mucking around with tools when his friend Kleiman arrived. Farrell arrived some time later and Kingi said in his statement that he went outside to kiss their 7-week-old baby.

“I went back inside the house and sat down on the couch in the living room.

“Bob asked if I wanted to see the gun,” the statement said.

Bob Kleiman was shot in October 2022 in Whangārei, allegedly by Ike Kingi. Photo / Legacy.com

Kingi said he had the gun in his hand and as he turned to sit down it went off.

“I panicked and looked to where Bob was, I saw he had a head wound and I knew I could not help him. It was only Bob and I that was inside the house at the time of the incident.”

Broderick said when Kingi was asked who was driving the vehicle fleeing the scene, he refused to comment and ended the interview.

The medical evidence

Medical experts testified on Friday that the fatal gunshot entered the right corner of Kleiman’s mouth, with blood splattered across his right hand and wrist.

Forensic pathologist Charles Glen performed the autopsy on Kleiman and gave evidence about the nature of the gunshot that led to his death.

Glen said Kleiman’s death would have been close to instantaneous and the shot had gone through his brain stem which was unsurvivable.

Glen said there was no soot outside the wound. Instead, it was found inside Kleiman’s mouth, which indicated the barrel of the gun was making skin contact when it went off.

“When explosions happen, gunpowder converts to soot and comes out the end of the barrel.

“If we see soot in the wound, it can tell us it was very close,” Glen said.

Stacy Jamieson allegedly tampered with evidence at the scene of the crime. Photo / NZME

Glen said there were also several other indications of the close range of the gun, including a lack of stippling or abrasions to the skin.

“The gun was in contact with his skin when the gun was fired, at the corner of his mouth.”

Glen said Kleiman also had bruising to his abdomen, hips and torso but could not clarify when the victim may have received those wounds.

Under cross-examination, Hislop asked Glen whether it was possible the contact of the gun to the skin could have been momentary, to which Glen responded, “Any scenario could be possible.”

Recreated digital footage was produced of the layout of the living room which showed the house was largely vacant with various items scattered throughout.

In the living room, Kleiman’s body lay dead on the floor in front of a desk that had a couch behind it.

ESR senior forensic scientist Angus Newton confirmed the distance from the couch to where Kleiman lay dead on the floor was over a metre and a half.

Newton also confirmed Kleiman had blood splatter marks on his wrist and right hand and confirmed the bath mat placed on top of the blood pooling near his head had been placed there after he was shot.

The trial continues next week.

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.