Murder accused: pulling trigger was a practical joke

The death of Michael Coffin was a practical joke gone wrong, a defence lawyer told the jury in the High Court at Auckland yesterday.

Auckland barber Christopher Thomas, 24, is accused of murdering the 21-year-old chef by shooting him at point-blank range in the back of the head on August 11 last year.

In his opening address to the jury, defence counsel Lester Cordwell, appearing with Roy Wade said that Thomas put the gun at the back of Mr Coffin's head and pulled the trigger in a practical joke that went horribly wrong.

Both men were small-time drug dealers.

The Crown says that Thomas killed Mr Coffin to rob him of two ounces of cocaine worth $14,000 to $20,000 before burying his body in a shallow grave in the basement of a Browns Bay house where his (Thomas') former partner lived.

In his statement to the police, Thomas said that Mr Coffin had wanted to stash a rifle in Foley Quarry Rd in Albany.

When Mr Coffin leaned into the car to get the rifle, it went off, firing a bullet into the back of his head, the statement said.

But Mr Cordwell told the jury that the version to the police was not true.

On the day of the shooting, Mr Cordwell said, both Thomas and Mr Coffin had been taking drugs.

The men were involved in a deal to buy and on-sell a gun. It was a novelty for both men, who were unfamiliar with firearms.

Mr Cordwell told the jury that Mr Coffin played a joke on Thomas at Pt Erin Park in Ponsonby, pointing the unloaded gun and pulling the trigger.

"Christopher Thomas got the second-biggest fright of his life," Mr Cordwell said.

When the sale of the gun temporarily fell through, the pair decided to take it back to hide it in Foley Quarry Rd.

Thomas went to relieve himself and when he returned to the car he decided to pay Mr Coffin back for the earlier joke.

"He sees the gun but unbeknown to him, in his absence ... Michael Coffin must have loaded the gun."

The person who sold them the firearm had warned them it was old and needed to be tested before they sold it.

"Christopher Thomas ... presses the gun against Michael Coffin's head. He makes a joke and pulls the trigger ... You know what happens next."

Thomas had not intended Mr Coffin any harm, let alone want to kill him.

He did not shoot him for drugs or money. He did not know Mr Coffin had two ounces of cocaine worth up to $20,000.

"It was an accident that this man will have to live with for the rest of his life."

Thomas then panicked and began a cover-up.

Mr Cordwell said that the jury would hear from the man who sold the men the rifle.

In tearful testimony, Thomas told the court of picking up the gun and putting it to the back of Mr Coffin's head.

"I thought this is my perfect chance to scare Lurch [Mr Coffin] the same way he scared me ... It was supposed to be part of the joke."

He had expected to hear a clicking sound, but instead the gun discharged.

Thomas said he jolted in fright and called out Mr Coffin's name over and over. He panicked when he found no pulse.

"I thought I didn't know how I could explain this."

The trial, before Justice Mark O'Regan, continues today.