Falala Iongi, Valiami Iongi and their cousin Manu Iongi appeared in court for the death of Meliame Fisi'ihoi. Photo / Alex Burton
Falala Iongi, Valiami Iongi and their cousin Manu Iongi appeared in court for the death of Meliame Fisi'ihoi. Photo / Alex Burton
The trial over the killing of an Auckland grandmother shot through her window with a bullet allegedly intended for her son has been aborted.
The jury had heard almost a month of evidence in the case before it was aborted by Justice Grant Powell in the High Court at Aucklandtoday. The jury was excused and no new trial date has been set.
In January 2020, Meliame Fisi'ihoi was watching TV in the sitting room in the early hours of the morning, when she got up to check a noise she heard outside her Favona home, the court heard at the start of the trial.
The mother of six went to the window, raised her right hand and opened the curtain. As she looked out, a gunshot was fired from close range, killing Fisi'ihoi instantly. The court heard earlier this month that the 57-year-old woman's husband and younger children were home in bed at the time.
Meliame Fisi'ihoi was shot in her home in Favona. Photo / Supplied
The Crown says the bullet was meant for Fisi'ihoi's eldest son after a botched gun deal. Brothers Falala Iongi, Valiami Iongi and their cousin Manu Iongi all pleaded not guilty to Fisi'ihoi's murder.
The trio all pleaded not guilty to the murder of Meliame Falala and Valiami Iongi also pleaded not guilty to charges of discharging a firearm with intent to cause grievous bodily harm and wounding with intent to cause grievous bodily harm at an incident that happened in late 2019.
Both shootings took place at the same location and were intended for the same man, Stephen Fisi'ihoi, the Crown alleged.
Instead Fisi'ihoi's mother was found slumped over the back of the couch facing out the window, which had a bullet hole in it.
