12.00pm
Three people accused of killing Nicholas Clarkson on a footpath in downtown Auckland last year have been found guilty of murder and aggravated robbery.
Tawa Iles, aged 21 of Papatoetoe, Tipene Hiriwini Halford, 19, of Glenfield, and Krystale Tina Maree Tahuri, 19 of Henderson, were charged with killing the 23-year-old Mr
Clarkson in the early morning hours of January 26, 2001.
Each of the three was given a mandatory life sentence. There was no application from the Crown for a minimum period to be served before parole could be granted.
They will be sentenced on June 14 on the aggravated robbery convictions.
A fourth person, Crown witness Annie Hekeua, was given immunity from prosecution for murder but is serving a prison sentence for aggravated robbery.
The Crown told the court that Mr Clarkson was stalked by the four after he took money from a bank machine in downtown Auckland.
Tahuri said in her statement that she acted as a decoy, distracting Mr Clarkson while Iles sneaked up and hit him over the head with a large piece of wood as he sat on steps in Gore St.
Iles said he was merely the driver and never left the car and that Halford was the one weilding the wood.
Halford maintained he was not there at all.
Hekeua first told the jury that Iles hit Mr Clarkson with the wood, then said it was Halford, and then reverted to her original version that Iles used the wood and Halford then joined in punching and hitting the victim.
Justice Priestley told the jury they had to be cautious about Hekeua's evidence.
He said that the Crown case was that they were all in the aggravated robbery together.
Inflicting serious bodily injury to carry out a robbery which resulted in death was murder whether or not the assailant intended death to result and whether or not he knew that death was likely.
The judge said that the other people involved as parties would also be guilty of murder if they knew that grievous bodily injury was a probable consequence of the planned robbery.
If they knew the wood was to be used to inflict grievous bodily injury, they would be guilty of murder.
Following a seven-week trial, the jury retired at 11.25am yesterday and delivered its verdicts just before noon today.
