Lundy verdict: Eight key issues from the trial

Justice Simon France. Photo / Mark Mitchell

The central nervous system tissue found on Mark Lundy's polo shirt

Crown says: It demonstrates "clearly and unequivocally" that Lundy was the killer. The sample was one billion billion times more likely to belong to Christine Lundy than anyone else.
Defence says: The tissue on the shirt could have come about through contamination. There were several shortcomings in the way the crime scene and evidence were dealt with. The cells could also have been food.

The alleged "secret journey" back to Palmerston North to commit the murders

Crown says: Lundy parked his car away from the motel so as not to disturb other guests when leaving in the early hours of the morning. Odometer readings from his car nine days before the deaths, compared with his return to Palmerston North, left a discrepancy of more than 400km - enough to make "the killing trip".
Defence says: Bored of being cooped up in his Petone motel room, Lundy took a short drive to the foreshore to read a book on the night of the killings. The discrepancy on the odometer readings was easily explained by Lundy's job as a sink salesman, his busy social calendar and the many activities in which Amber participated. With the petrol in his car, he could not have made a secret trip to and from Palmerston North.

Blue and orange paint flakes found in the victims' wounds

Crown says: The flecks of paint came from Lundy's tomahawk, which he used to kill his wife and daughter. He regularly used those colours to mark his tools and the paint chips were embedded in skull fragments due to the force of the blows rained down on the victims.
Defence says: The Lundys were redecorating at the time and any flakes of paint could easily have come from the within the house, which was known to be quite messy. The killer could have picked up the weapon which might have been lying around inside the home. No murder weapon has ever been found and Lundy did not own a tomahawk.

The stomach contents of the victims

Crown says: The contents of the stomachs included potato chips and fish and chip-style chips, which must have been eaten after an original dinner of McDonalds. Christine was known to warm up leftover McDonalds which the pair could have eaten late at night, a couple of hours before they were killed. In any case, pinpointing time of death from stomach contents is notoriously difficult.
Defence says: The stomach contents show they would have eaten less than two hours before they were killed. Considering they had McDonald's sometime after 6pm, Amber's bedtime was about 8pm and the Crown says Lundy committed the murders in the early hours of the next morning, he could not be the killer.

Mark and Christine's financial issues

Crown says: The pair owed money to the bank, their parent company Duratech and were on the verge of facing a $100,000 interest payment and bankruptcy. Christine was deeply concerned about the winery venture and that combined with the mounting debt drove a wedge between them.
Defence says: Lundy was well aware of the precarious financial position but it did not overly concern him. Bankruptcy would not have been the catastrophe the Crown painted it to be. Christine was the one with the business acumen so it would make no sense to kill her.

The Lundy family dynamic

Crown says: The couple had stopped having sex and Lundy was using prostitutes because the relationship was breaking down.
Defence says: Lundy was very much in love with his wife and Amber was the "apple of his eye". The pair had wanted another child together.

Witness X - a former inmate who served time in prison with Lundy

Crown says: Lundy told the man he would not have been in prison had Amber not disturbed him killing Christine. The prisoner had no reason to lie as he had been told there would be no perks to him giving evidence.
Defence says: The man is a liar and a criminal with a long history of offending to his name. Lundy could not have been discussing an appeal, as the witness suggested, because he had not even been convicted when they allegedly spoke.

Chris Weggery - Christine Lundy's brother

Crown says: He was the first on the scene because he was a regular visitor to the house. Police thoroughly investigated him and there was nothing to suggest he was the killer.
Defence says: He had a scratch on his nose which he could not explain to police. There was blood seen on a towel in his home and some found in the boot of his car. The police investigation suffered from "tunnel vision" once they decided to pin the blame on Lundy.