The 10 defendants have been on trial in the High Court at Hamilton for the past six weeks denying any involvement with the killing of Tauranga man Mitchell Te Kani. Photos / NZME
The 10 defendants have been on trial in the High Court at Hamilton for the past six weeks denying any involvement with the killing of Tauranga man Mitchell Te Kani. Photos / NZME
Mongrel Mob members purposefully swarmed a property to seek retribution, not to share their Long White vodka drinks, the Crown has emphasised to a jury as a long-running murder trial has begun to wrap up.
Mitchell Te Kani was killed and several others, including his brotherand father, were injured in a brawl at his whānau property in Maungatapu, Tauranga, on May 14, 2022.
Nine people, including eight Mongrel Mob members, have been on trial in the High Court at Hamilton for the past six weeks defending multiple charges, including Mitchell’s murder.
Tenth defendant Jamie Thomas had his charges dismissed earlier in the trial.
Today, Crown solicitor Duncan McWilliam delivered his closing address in which he urged the jury to remember why the accused went to the address in the first place.
“Why were these defendants on the Te Kani whānau whenua that night?
“Why did they go there?
“Eight of them didn’t know any of the Te Kani whānau. None of them had been invited around there just before 11pm that night.
“Not one of them had any lawful purpose for turning up in the way that they did.
“They were not there to share drinks, share their Long Whites.
“They were retaliating against the Te Kani whānau for what happened 20 minutes earlier to one of their fellow gang members ... who had been assaulted by (Mitchell Te Kani’s brother) Thomas. Why else were they there?”
Earlier in the night, defendant Bodine Umuroa and his partner, Kiri Pini, an ex-partner of Thomas, arrived at the house unannounced and had a confrontation with several whānau members as they demanded to see Thomas
Thomas wasn’t home but he arrived just as Umuroa and Pini were leaving. A fight ensued and Thomas got the better of the patched member.
Umuroa then laid down his threat, saying he would “go and get the Rogues”.
Nine minutes later, five carloads of Mongrel Mob turned up and allegedly launched a short but deadly attack.
“These defendants and the rest of their group were acting collectively as a group, as a violent mob, as a gang,” McWilliam submitted.
“There were no bystanders in this group to what happened, no casual observers and Mitchell Te Kani was killed trying to protect his family on their property.
Mitchell Te Kani, 51, died on May 14, 2022. Photo / Supplied
“This was a short, violent assault on this family.”
Mitchell didn’t get pushed or fall over: “He was struck on the side of the head with an iron bar ... causing him to fall and further fractures to the back of the skull from his fall all contributed to his death”.
“It was an unlawful killing. It was murder.
“All the people responsible for Mitchell Te Kani’s death are there, in the dock.”
McWilliam front-footed prospective submissions that may get posed in the defence closing, which included that Hamiora Bennett might say that he was bleeding before he arrived, or that Kevin Bailey was knocked unconscious or Shem Williams and Mihaka Ratahi left before the violence escalated. All of those men are on trial.
He told the jury to think about whether there was any evidence of that occurring.
As for Thomas Te Kani’s actions two weeks earlier, when he smashed a window of Pini’s car, McWilliam said while that wasn’t excusable, he noted Pini’s parting words that night - “I will make you pay for this”.
“They may have been words said in anger if she had not turned up two weeks later with Mr Umuroa, no prior contact or arrangement.”
McWilliam also took a shot at Bailey’s defence counsel Max Simpkins who was critical of Thomas Te Kani when questioning him in the witness box, saying it had an “element of hypocrisy”.
“Thomas Te Kani was criticised for his behaviour in front of his children, for being violent in front of his whānau, psychologically abusive.
“Well just think for a minute the behaviour of Mr Bailey and others who met up that Saturday night. What was that if not terrorising the Te Kani family?
“If not psychological abuse to these girls and rest of the family ... hearing the yelling as they come up the driveway, hearing the bottles smashed.
“If there’s any psychological abuse that’s happened to these Te Kani children you might think it happened on that Saturday night, not two weeks earlier.”
When the group turned up that fatal night, Thomas tried to de-escalate the situation, McWilliam said, adding that Thomas could be heard asking on video “who was in charge” in an attempt to talk with them.
Defence counsel closing will begin tomorrow and is likely to continue until Tuesday or Wednesday, before Justice Andrew Becroft sums up the case and sends the jury out to begin deliberations.
Belinda Feek is an Open Justice reporter based in Waikato. She has worked at NZME for nine years and has been a journalist for 20.
