Jury told to ignore horror feelings

Antonie Dixon

The jury in the Antonie Ronnie Dixon murder trial was told yesterday to put aside any feelings of outrage or horror at what happened to the victims.

In her summing-up in the High Court at Auckland, Justice Judith Potter told the jury there was no place for prejudice or sympathy in coming to their verdicts.

Partway through her address, Dixon became ill. He was led from the dock by guards and was reported to have vomited in the cells before returning to the court.

Dixon, 36, faces a number of charges, including attempting to murder Renee Gunbie and Simonne Butler with a samurai sword at Pipiroa on January 21, 2003, and later shooting and killing James Te Aute with a home-made submachine gun.

The defence says Dixon was insane and did not know his actions were morally wrong.

The Crown accepts that Dixon has a severe personality disorder and suffered from paranoia.

But it maintains that Dixon was on a P-fuelled crime spree and knew exactly what he was doing every step of the way.

The jury, which retired just after midday, adjourned for the evening at 9.30pm. They will resume their deliberations tomorrow.

Much of the judge's summing-up related to the issue of legal insanity, which she said differed from the medical concept of insanity or the notion people had of someone being crazy, nuts, or having lost the plot.

Under the legal definition of insanity, a person had to have a disease of the mind that robbed him of the ability to understand the nature and quality of his acts or that they were morally wrong.

Everyone was presumed sane and it was for the defence to prove insanity was more probable than not.

Two defence psychiatrists said Dixon had a disease of the mind since before the events, though they could not agree what it was.

One of them said Dixon probably did not know his actions at Pipiroa were wrong, but there was more doubt about the killing of Mr Te Aute.

The other said that in relation to the Pipiroa incident Dixon may have believed his actions were not morally wrong, but such a conclusion was more difficult in the other cases.

Two Crown psychiatrists said a disease of the mind was possible, though not probable.

They said Dixon knew what he did was morally wrong. Justice Potter reminded jurors that this was trial by jury, not by psychiatrists.

"Without detracting from the qualifications of the psychiatrists, they do not decide the issue."

She ruled that a disease of the mind could occur when drugs aggravated or elevated a pre-existing mental illness, but more was required than a transitory effect. If the jury accepted that a latent mental illness had been triggered into existence by the use of methamphetamine or that a pre-existing illness was exacerbated or aggravated by the use of the drug, they could go on to decide whether Dixon was suffering a disease of the mind at the relevant time.

But Justice Potter said the Crown experts said that Dixon did not have a pre-existing mental illness nor did the use of P trigger a latent illness in the accused.

An intent under the influence of drugs was still an intent, said the judge.

Intoxication was only relevant if a person was so intoxicated by drugs that he was not capable of forming an intent.

The Crown case was that for some months Dixon had been taking considerable quantities of P.

Auckland Crown Solicitor Simon Moore said Dixon was a nasty, angry man.

The drug increased his paranoia and disinhibited his tendency to violence.

His actions were not those of a madman, but a purposeful person acting with deliberate and calculated intent.

Defence counsel Barry Hart said there was much evidence to show that Dixon had serious mental problems long before January 2003.

The accused

* Antonie Ronnie Dixon, 36, is accused of attacking Renee Gunbie and Simonne Butler with a samurai sword at Pipiroa, on the Hauraki Plains.

* Dixon has denied the attempted murder of the women, and shooting dead James Te Aute at Highland Park in east Auckland in January 2003 with a home-made submachinegun.

* He also faces charges of shooting at a police officer, aggravated robbery and kidnapping.