After more than a day's deliberations, a Hamilton jury remains unable to determine the fate of three men facing charges over the shooting of a Taupo man.
Cody Griffin, Whakapumautanga "Cookie" Clarke and Daniel Chase, 22, each deny charges of murder and the aggravated robbery of Scott John Henry's backpack after going to his Kinloch home on July 20, last year.
The Crown argued the three hatched a plan to go to Henry's Whangamata Rd property for drugs and cash.
After arriving they confronted Henry's partner, Kylie Hartley, as she exited the outdoor toilet before Henry came around the corner holding a flashlight.
Seconds later, Clarke shot him in the chest. He died at the scene.
Through his lawyer, Max Simpkins, Clarke had argued the shooting was accidental, due to it being a dark, stormy night, which caused him to slip and pulled the trigger.
Griffin's lawyer, John Munro, had argued they went to Henry's house simply to "shake the money tree", and that they had formed a "low-level, insignificant plan, done on the hoof".
Munro and Chase's lawyer, Bill Lawson, denies charges of both murder and manslaughter. All three defence counsel have left it up to the jury to decide the verdicts on the aggravated robbery charge.
The jurors will continue their deliberations on Monday.