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The only man to survive unscathed from Antonie Dixon's 11-hour, drug-fuelled reign of terror says he will gladly head back to court to "put him away again".
Dixon was jailed for life in March 2005 after a rampage that left one man dead and two women with horrific injuries from a samurai sword attack.
His final act of the January 2003 frenzy - before he was caught by police - was to burst into Ian Miller's home and hold him hostage for more than four hours.
The Court of Appeal yesterday quashed the convictions and ordered a new trial. The reasons for the decision have been suppressed.
Defence lawyers challenged the convictions, citing a number of factors that they believed contributed to a miscarriage of justice for Dixon. And Barry Hart hopes to get his client freed on bail as soon as possible.
He told TVNZ: "He's presumed to be innocent ... The moment the convictions have been overturned he's back to where he was at the beginning of the trial."
Dixon has been transferred from Paremoremo to Auckland's remand prison and Mr Hart says people need to keep an open mind about the case.
He says a new trial is likely to be held in the new year. A date has not yet been set, but Mr Miller told the Weekend Herald he would be ready. "I will go there again without hesitation if I think I can help put him away again."
Mr Miller was at his Flat Bush home when Dixon burst in wielding a home-made automatic firearm with laser sight. He warned Mr Miller that he had already killed that night and said things would get "messy" if he did not do as he was told.
Mr Miller, now semi-retired to a lifestyle block, said yesterday that it was "incredibly disappointing" that there would be a new trial.
"The whole thing is ridiculous. Look at what this guy did. Our society demands more than this."
Mr Miller said he had stayed calm during the hostage drama and he had "moved on quickly" afterwards.
Before he arrived at Mr Miller's home, Dixon had attacked his partner Renee Gunbie and his former partner Simonne Butler at the Hauraki Plains home the three shared.
Ms Gunbie's right hand was severed. She had a fractured skull, a broken arm and deep gashes to her head and shoulders. Part of her scalp had been sliced off.
Both Ms Butler's arms were partially severed. The women were within minutes of death when ambulance staff arrived.
Dixon, 34 at the time, fled and drove to Auckland via Hamilton, smoking methamphetamine on the way.
He stopped at a Pakuranga service station where he fired 10 bullets into the back of James Te Aute, killing him.
As he was pursued by police he fired more shots at patrol cars, before invading Mr Miller's home.
He let Mr Miller go free before he finally gave himself up about 6am.
The facts were not disputed at Dixon's trial - his defence was that he was insane and did not know his actions were morally wrong.
He was convicted on eight charges and told he would serve a minimum non-parole period of 20 years.
The trial cost $209,465 - the fourth most expensive legal aid case in the past five years.
Crown Solicitor Simon Moore said the Court of Appeal ruling was disappointing for all those involved in the trial, including the families, victims and witnesses.
A hearing to set a trial date is likely to be held within two weeks.
