The jury deciding whether a Hungarian tourist is guilty of murdering a man with a banjo will begin its third day of deliberations today.
Ferdinand Ambach, 32, is accused of bashing 69-year-old Ronald James Brown with a banjo and then ramming the neck of the instrument down his throat on
December 7, 2007. He died in hospital three days later.
Yesterday, the jury in the High Court at Auckland asked to watch a three-hour interview Ambach gave police after he was arrested for wilful damage to Mr Brown's flat.
During the interview, he told of his fears that Mr Brown, who was gay, would rape him. He had gone back to the Onehunga flat after the pair met at a nearby bar.
Ambach said he went home with Mr Brown to drink more alcohol and to practise his English - but alleged Mr Brown began touching him and asked him to go upstairs with him.
He claimed the older man put his arm around him and "that's when the whole thing happened, from then on".
His memory became hazy but he recalled being upstairs and scared and tried to barricade himself in a room.
The Crown says Ambach knew what he was doing when he attacked Mr Brown and was guilty of murder. Prosecutor Nick Williams said Ambach meant to kill him or injure Mr Brown knowing that he could die.
"He didn't just want to disable him but hit him again and again and again."
However, defence lawyer Peter Kaye argued Ambach was provoked by Mr Brown's advances, which caused him to lose his self-control.
