Shannon Brady has been on trial in the High Court at Whangārei for the alleged murder of Nicholas Baldwin. Photo / NZME
Four sightings of a man walking in the middle of the road shortly before he was fatally struck have undermined allegations that the driver had murderous intent.
The last burst of evidence from locals ultimately upended the Crown’s case, leading to Shannon Brady being cleared of the murder of Nicholas Baldwin.
Brady, 53, has been on trial in the High Court at Whangārei for the past three weeks, accused of murdering Baldwin by intentionally hitting him with his ute.
The jury heard evidence that the pair had issues leading up to Baldwin’s death on August 1, 2024.
The Crown alleged Baldwin, of Waimamaku, wanted a cut of Brady’s alleged cannabis operation and left a message on his letterbox on July 29.
“Baldhead. Shanonuts. Dope grower, pay your dues or the mighty notorious will take it all,” the message to Brady said.
For the next three days, “a flurry of text messages” was sent between Brady and several locals as he shared what Baldwin had done.
“F*** I’m slutted, c***s over when I find him,” Brady sent to one associate.
“It’s blackmail or warning,” he texted another.
Brady was communicating consistently with an associate known only as JB as they allegedly searched the Hokianga for Baldwin.
On the morning of August 1, the last message sent from Brady’s phone was of him seeing Baldwin walking along the road.
Brady’s ute hit Baldwin around 8am, and Brady left the scene.
Baldwin died two hours later after several locals stopped to help and some of his last words were “Shannon did it”.
The Crown allege Brady had murderous intent but the defence claim Baldwin was known for walking in the middle of the road and in front of cars.
In the last days of the trial, four Waimamaku locals gave evidence of their encounters with Baldwin that morning.
Defence lawyer Jasper Rhodes said Brady accepted he hit Baldwin, but it was an accident.
The defence put forward a case that Baldwin had left his house on foot, looking for Brady and began walking north.
Kody Williams gave evidence that he came across Baldwin, who lunged at his vehicle.
Williams said he was “throwing up gang signs”, and he had to swerve to miss him.
As Baldwin kept walking, a second local, who also gave evidence, saw Baldwin in the middle of the road still throwing up gang signs.
The local school principal was the third person to come across Baldwin that morning, and she, too, told the trial that Baldwin had lunged at her car.
“She got a fright and made a call to police about it,” Rhodes told the jury in closing statements.
Around 7.45am, Baldwin reached Brady’s driveway and was heard yelling and swearing.
Another phone call was made to police, this time by Brady’s flatmate, about Baldwin’s concerning behaviour.
“If he wasn’t already angry, he sure was now,” Rhodes said, explaining the demeanour of Baldwin.
Michelle Dunn was the fourth person to come across Baldwin, who, by this stage, had left Brady’s and was walking back in the other direction.
Dunn said she saw Baldwin walking along the road, making Mongrel Mob gestures and “screaming ‘Tangata whenua’ like he was on something,” Dunn said.
“He sprung out into the road. I had to swerve my vehicle to miss him. Terrible, it was that close. I nearly hit him myself,” Dunn said.
It was around this time that Baldwin sent a text to an associate of Brady’s to pass on a message: “one ounce a harvest or I call the dogs in”.
Dunn said when she arrived at her house, contractors laying her new driveway told her they had just helped a man found lying in a ditch after being struck by a vehicle.
Rhodes told the jury it was Baldwin who was out looking for Brady and, when Brady left his home that morning for a pie, Baldwin “does what he always does and takes it a step too far”.
Rhodes said he saw Brady coming and jumped out in front of him.
“There’s one road going in and out, the chances of that happening are pretty good,” Rhodes said.
“Baldwin had a well-established pattern of behaviour.”
Rhodes said the technical evidence submitted by the Crown of the vehicle accelerating within a second and then braking also supported the case that Brady had swerved to miss him.
“I suggest an accidental foot on the accelerator. We’re talking about two seconds.
“The fact that he comes to a complete stop makes no sense for someone who’s trying to run someone down. Common sense makes this a much more likely scenario.”
Rhodes said the communications between locals sent in text messages were conversations between friends and asked the jury to put themselves in Brady’s situation.
“Would you want 11 jurors poring over your phone data and taking your messages literally and making decisions over their life?” Rhodes asked.
“What the phone data does not show, it does not show Mr Brady messaging people that he got him, sorted it out, won’t be bothering us any more.
“He doesn’t go and delete his phone data. You might think it would be the first thing he does if he’s covering his tracks.”
The jury retired to deliberate around 10.30am today and returned not guilty verdicts on the murder, and the substitute charge of manslaughter, around 3pm.
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.