Richard Leman murder trial: Witness says victim was shot twice by ‘evil’ killer ‘for no reason’

Richard Leman was “gasping for air” on the floor after being shot twice at a North Canterbury house but no one did anything to help him.

A jury has heard a detailed account of Leman’s last moments at the trial for the man accused of his murder.

“He came in with the intention to kill him ... he had a gun,” said Sara Plimmer, a friend of Leman’s who has told the court she was there when he was shot dead by Michael Scott Rodger in 2023.

“I saw him shoot one of my good mates.

“I thought it was a BB gun - I just didn’t want to believe it ... It was just surreal.

“I don’t even know what guns look like. It was the first time I’d ever seen one.”

Richard Leman. Photo / Supplied

Plimmer said after the alleged murder, Rodger was “evil” and “demonic” and told her he had “always hated” Leman.

Leman’s partial remains were found in the boot of his car at an abandoned house in Rangiora in April 2023.

Rodger, 49, was later charged with murder.

Police allege he shot Leman, a father of three, then “decapitated and dismembered” him after smoking methamphetamine.

His trial began yesterday in the High Court at Christchurch before Justice Jonathan Eaton and a jury. It is set to run for four weeks, during which more than 30 witnesses will give evidence.

For full details of the first day of Michael Rodger’s murder trial, click here.

Two key witnesses are Leman’s friends, Sara Plimmer and Morgan “Molly” Grant.

The women claim they were with Leman at Grant’s home when Rodger arrived with a .22-calibre gun and shot him twice.

The first bullet went into Leman’s knee, and the second into his chest. He died soon after.

This morning, the jury began watching a video of Plimmer’s evidential interview with police in which she detailed her version of events from the night of the murder.

Michael Scott Rodger. Photo / RNZ

Plimmer had smoked methamphetamine with Leman earlier in the day. The pair then picked up takeaways from Burger King and went to Grant’s house.

Grant sent a text message to Rodger advising that Leman was there.

The men knew each other through the drug scene, and there had been “animosity” between them.

What happened to Richard Leman?

The women were in Grant’s bedroom when Rodger arrived.

“I knew someone had come into the house … I remember hearing two voices,“ Plimmer said.

“We both looked at each other. There was a weird noise - a snap kind of noise … I think that’s when Richard got shot in the knee.

“Molly looked at me and said, ‘What the f*** was that?’ For me, guns sound massive … It seriously didn’t sound like a gunshot. It sounded like something fell down.”

Plimmer went to the lounge and said she saw Rodger shouting at Leman.

He was accusing Leman of “talking s***” about a woman.

“Richard was still alive at [that] point … he was yelling … I was just like, ‘What the f***’, just in disbelief.

“I went back into the room like, ‘This isn’t happening … he’s got a gun’. I was in disbelief.

“I heard another one of those crackling noises … I went out … I just saw him collapse.

“He fell to the ground and took his last breath and all I wanted to do was go over there and hold his hand.”

“It was not self-defence” says witness

Plimmer told police that Rodger said he only shot Leman the second time because he was “coming at him”.

“Mike said he wouldn’t have shot him again if he wasn’t coming at him but he wasn’t coming at him,” she said.

She said Rodger said, “I just wanted to scare the c*** and rob him”.

“He said: ‘I don’t know what happened but. .. just that adrenaline rush after I shot him’.

“He looked in shock too ... and then he was like, ‘He’s not dead’ ... Molly said: ‘What the f*** are you doing?’ and that’s when he got the gun up again and pointed it at us.”

Leman's car at the vacant property. Photo / George Heard

Plimmer was terrified she was going to be killed. She said she still cannot fathom why Rodger did not shoot her, given she was a witness to his alleged crime.

“I asked Mike, ‘Have you done this before?’ And he said he’d never killed anyone,” she said in the interview.

“He looked stressed as f***. He was a mess. .. this little f***** shot him for no reason, no reason at all.

“He can’t say it was self-defence ... he said: ‘I always hated him’ ... you could see it in his eyes, it was evil ... it was demonic.”

Plimmer claims Rodger “got rid of the gun” and came back into the house.

He closed Leman’s eyes and then “rummaged” through his clothing, taking the dead man’s meth, cash and several cellphones.

The phones were destroyed, and the trio smoked the meth together.

Plimmer told police that after consuming the drugs, Rodger was “f***** off his face”.

“I was pretty much held hostage, not knowing what to say or what to do,” she said.

She said Rodger “divided up” Leman’s cash between himself, her and Grant.

She said she did not want it and claims Rodger told her, “It’s the least you can have for what you’ve been involved in tonight.”

Witness says dismembering of body “digsusting”

In her police interview Plimmer said Grant later told her that Leman’s body had been put into his car boot - after his head was “cut off”.

She said Grant claimed the body was dumped in a place it would “never be found”.

But days later, it was.

Plimmer told police she had no idea where the missing body parts were. She said Grant had never disclosed that information.

She said if she did know where Leman’s remains were, she would tell the police. She described the act of dismembering her friend as “disgusting”.

“I’ve got nothing to lose,” she said.

The house where the victim's remains were dumped. Photo / Kurt Bayer

Plimmer explained why she did not go to the police straight away.

“I’ve wanted to say something, but I’m so petrified he (Rodger) will come after me - or that someone else will… I’m sorry, I should have been honest from the start, but I was so scared.

“I’m scared for my life - I’m scared every day. I never wanted to be involved in this - I was at the wrong place at the wrong time.”

After the jury watched Plimmer’s police interview, she appeared in court by audio-visual link to continue giving evidence.

She admitted that before the video interview, she had given several statements to police that were not entirely truthful.

One one occasion she said Leman drove her home from Grant’s place on the night of the murder.

She did not disclose anything about Leman being shot.

“I was frightened for my life and my family’s life. After seeing what I saw I definitely didn’t want to have someone coming after me,” she said.

Her partner eventually called her and told her that the police had obtained messages she sent him on the night Leman died.

He told her “this is your final chance to give the truth”.

She then agreed to a full interview during which she said she was honest about everything that happened.

The court heard that before Leman died, Plimmer and Grant had met once briefly. They were, Plimmer said, effectively “strangers”.

Grant is scheduled to give evidence later in the trial.

Rodger denies murdering Leman.

He claims Leman was already dead when he arrived at Grant’s house - that Plimmer and Grant killed him and were lying to frame him.

He told an associate before the trial in a phone call from prison that was recorded and will be played for the jury that both the women and the police were “setting me up”.

Plimmer’s evidence continues tomorrow.

Grant is expected to give evidence later this week.

Anna Leask is a senior journalist who covers national crime and justice. She joined the Herald in 2008 and has worked as a journalist for 20 years with a particular focus on family and gender-based violence, child abuse, sexual violence, homicides, mental health and youth crime. She writes, hosts and produces the award-winning podcast, A Moment In Crime, released monthly on nzherald.co.nz