Drug 'freak out' killed Blessie Gotingco

The man accused of murdering Blessie Gotingco.

Trial draws to a close as accused says he stabbed North Shore mum in meth-induced panic

Blessie Gotingco's alleged killer said he was "smashed off his face" on methamphetamine when he stabbed her but the Crown suggested he overstated his drug addiction.

The 28-year-old accused of her rape and murder took to the witness box yesterday and admitted he had stabbed the North Shore mother while she lay in the back of his car.

He explained he had done so to make it look like she was the victim of "a random attack".

He told the jury in the High Court at Auckland he was aware of the scrutiny he was under while being monitored by a GPS anklet and he knew the police would track his movements to the site where he hit Mrs Gotingco if he had left her there.

According to the defendant, he accidentally hit Mrs Gotingco as he drove down Salisbury Rd in Birkdale on May 24, 2014.

Minutes away from breaching his curfew, the man scooped her up and put her in the back of his silver BMW before taking her back to his nearby apartment.

"I was just smashed off my face panicking and freaking out," he said.

He told the jury he was convinced she was dead and put stabbing her down to "survival mode".

"I jumped out of my body and something else took over," he said. "After I did that I dropped to the ground and dropped the knife."

A clean-up followed over ensuing hours, which saw the defendant frantically wash himself and his clothes as well as try to remove traces of blood from the car.

He told the court the knife, along with some of Mrs Gotingco's belongings, were buried at the back of the property.

The accused - surrounded by security guards - cried while being led through his evidence and was emotional when asked about the catalyst to his drug addiction.

"My partner had a miscarriage and my aunty passed away, then not long after my mum suffered a stroke," he said.

The court heard how regular cannabis use was combined with smoking methamphetamine. By May, he was using both drugs on a daily basis.

But Crown prosecutor Kieran Raftery disputed that, telling the jury there was no drug paraphernalia in the house.

"Not a hint was found by police," he said.

Mr Raftery also cast doubt on the defendant's claim that he was driving around desperately trying to find drugs on the night of the incident.

"This was not you looking for drugs - this was for you already looking for possible locations to dump the body of the person you were going to rape," he said.

The defendant reacted angrily to the suggestion, with a flurry of expletives.

"You can take anything you want from my answers, bro, I don't give a f***," he said.

"Bro, why would I premeditatedly kill and rape somebody [while I had] a GPS bracelet on? Why the f*** would I do that, bro?

"It definitely wasn't me, it was the f***ing drug I was on. Going back as straight as I am now, things would be different."

The defendant was adamant he did not rape the victim and said traces of semen found inside her was down to "police malpractice".

Both the Crown and defence are expected to make closing statements today before the judge sums up. The jury will likely consider its verdicts tomorrow.