Double-murderer loses appeal against conviction

A man who killed two people when he drove his car into a crowd in suburban Auckland has had his appeal against his murder conviction and sentence rejected.

Darin Joseph Gardner, 25, appealed against his conviction in the High Court at Auckland last year for the murder of Melissa Viall, 23, and Kane Wright, 19, early on October 8, 2006.

Gardner admitted he was at the wheel when he drove into the crowd twice with his car on Pakuranga Highway, southeast Auckland. On the first occasion he hit Mr Wright, a blow which eventually killed him.

He then turned 180 degrees and drove back into the group, instantly killing Ms Viall, who was trying to aid Mr Wright. Gardner said he was trying to help his friend Anton De Graaff, who was involved in a brawl and who he thought was going to be killed. He was jailed for life with a non-parole period of 18 years.

In submissions to the Court of Appeal, Gardner's lawyers said the layout of the court and the conduct of several of the victims' supporters during the trial had placed undue pressure on the jury and led to an unfair trial.

But the three Court of Appeal judges said no concerns about the integrity of the court process were expressed during the trial, that no juror complained of being intimidated and that Justice Hugh Williams directed the jury to not be affected by sympathy or prejudice.

The judges rejected claims that Justice Williams acted incorrectly by discharging a juror who was told by someone attending another trial to "hang them" but not another who overheard this conversation, saying the juror discharged had spoken to the other person on several occasions.

They also said it was difficult for Gardner to claim he accidentally killed Mr Wright and Ms Viall while trying to "cause a distraction" to get the attackers away from Mr De Graaff.

"In the result then, we consider that the defence of provocation must inevitably have failed. The appellant drove through the people on the road knowing that they were not part of the provoking group."

- NZPA