Dying grandmother told cops of attack, court hears

A critically ill grandmother told police from her hospital bed how she was punched, kicked and her chest stomped on by an intruder who also dragged her by the hair as he tried to bundle her into a wardrobe.

Yan Ping Yang, 80, was home by herself on June 11, 2008, when she was allegedly attacked by Olinale Ah You, 30, who the Crown says entered her home looking for cash.

She died in hospital from her injuries three days later. Ah You was charged with her murder and yesterday went on trial at the High Court at Auckland.

When the charge was read to him he replied he was "not guilty of murder but guilty of manslaughter".

Addressing the jury, prosecutor Alysha McClintock said Ah You accepted he was at the house to steal and the acts committed by him caused Mrs Yang to die.

She said Ah You assaulted Mrs Yang by inflicting fatal blows mostly to her head and chest.

"She said she was upstairs in her lounge turning off the TV when she was confronted by an intruder, now known to be Mr Ah You."

He forced Mrs Yang down the stairs to a bedroom, Ms McClintock said, where he "tried to push her on to the bed but she resisted ... He tried to force her into a wardrobe. He kicked her and hit her in the head, then "kicked her twice in the chest and stomped on her chest with such force she lost consciousness."

Ms McClintock said it was not known why Ah You inflicted the injuries but it could have been to get Mrs Yang out of the way or to allow him to do what he wanted to - steal.

About $2100 cash was allegedly stolen from Mrs Yang's grandson. She lived in the Manurewa house with her son, daughter-in-law, and their three children but was home alone when the attack occurred.

When her family returned home they found her on the floor with her head partly under the bed and her feet by the wardrobe.

"She had a duvet cover over her and she was in a distressed state."

Her family thought she may have fallen and hurt herself or became ill, but doctors later said her injuries weren't consistent with a fall and the police were called.

Her daughter, Poy Wan Su, said Mrs Yang told her in hospital she'd been attacked by a man wearing a white top and he'd tried to push her into the closet.