Murder jury hears victim mixture of mad and bad

Angelina Edwards was described in a psychiatric report as a "mixture of badness and madness" and difficult to live with.

The assessment was revealed yesterday in the High Court at Auckland, where five people are on trial charged with murdering the 25-year-old solo mother.

Mavae Tangi Filimoehala, aged 52, his 39-year-old wife, Moana Leslie Filimoehala, daughter Kalina Mamata Filimoehala, 20, and son Siope Fotofili Filimoehala, 18, are jointly accused of murder.

A 17-year-old youth, who has interim name suppression, also faces a murder charge.

The father and mother also face charges of manslaughter by failing to get medical help for the woman's injuries.

All the accused face various charges of assaulting or injuring Angelina Edwards.

She had left Whangarei in late 1996 to live with the Filimoehalas in their Mangere home.

She was allegedly subjected to sustained abuse and beatings, particularly in the last three months of her life. She died on April 4 last year.

Cross-examined by Moana Filimoehala's lawyer, Paul Dacre, Angelina Edwards' Whangarei physician, Dr Beris Ford, said he agreed with a report on the dead woman by a psychiatrist from Whangarei Hospital.

The report said: "Part of the problem is we have a mixture of badness and madness."

Badness included manipulative behaviour, lying, stealing, destructive behaviour, attacking others and some substance abuse.

Angelina Edwards' madness included obsessive compulsive disorder and depression over her situation.

As well, the report said, she could have schizophrenia or bi-polar affective disorder. She was "no intellectual giant" and at times seemed to be rather foolish.

"All this provides potential for disaster, and she is very hard to live with," said the report. "We have been unable to find anyone who can put up with her."

Dr Ford told Mr Dacre he felt the report was fair comment.

He said the woman's mental illness was characterised by laziness, slowness in doing things, untidiness, lack of personal hygiene, lack of motivation, paranoia, depression, obsessional thoughts, ritualised behaviour, belief she was being persecuted, suicidal thoughts, low self-esteem, petty dishonesty, aggressiveness, delusional thoughts, auditory hallucinations and thoughts of killing people.

Paddy O'Driscoll, one of the lawyers acting for the 17-year-old, asked how a family would cope if Angelina Edwards were placed with them without the help and support of mental health professionals.

Dr Ford: "It would be difficult to imagine that they would be able to cope with this."

Asked by Mr O'Driscoll if Angelina Edwards had become dangerous to herself and other people and had had to be treated against her will in a locked environment, Dr Ford said she had threatened suicide and he knew of two occasions when she could have been regarded as dangerous to others.

But, he added, "I don't think I would describe her as having bouts of being seriously dangerous to herself or to others."

She had been a committed patient on several occasions.

Earlier, the dead woman's uncle, Wayne Baker from Hikurangi, said that when Angelina lived with him and his family in the latter half of 1996 she had been very caring towards his children, and kept herself immaculate except when she suffered "lapses" in taking care of herself.