Stefan Hannon-McGinn (left) and Ethan Howe are currently on trial in the High Court at New Plymouth.
In the dark of night, two young men crossed 380m of rugged terrain in a remote farming and hunting area, described as the “Wild West”, armed with guns.
They walked through bush and waded through water, holding their firearms above them to keep them dry.
But Stefan Hannon-McGinn, 28, and Ethan Howe, 27, were not on a hunting trip.
The best friends were making their way to Sidney Ross Bridson‘s property, the neighbour of Hannon-McGinn’s father, Mathew David Hannon.
When they arrived, Bridson was called outside and Hannon-McGinn shot him in the stomach at close range, while Howe allegedly covered his mate’s back.
Bridson, 55, was then dragged inside to his lounge and his property was set alight.
The death of the father of four followed ongoing tensions with Hannon over several issues, including friends of Bridson’s hunting on the surrounding land.
Matters continued to boil between the men, whose properties were separated by a small valley in Waitaanga, east of Taranaki, until, the Crown alleged, Hannon had had enough and called his son, upset about the conflict.
Hannon-McGinn “sorted it out”, the Crown claimed, according to a witness the defendant is said to have confided in.
A trial began this week in the High Court at New Plymouth, where Hannon-McGinn and Howe face charges of murder.
Howe is also defending a charge of arson, which Hannon-McGinn pleaded guilty to at the outset of the trial.
Jurors have heard that Hannon-McGinn accepted he shot Bridson, causing his death, but claimed it was self-defence, and Howe admitted he was present but not that he was criminally responsible.
“What happened in the Waitaangas?” That was the question one of Howe’s lawyers put to the jury, cautioning them that while they would hear from 77 Crown witnesses, their key focus should be on what occurred at the two properties.
In her opening address today, Crown prosecutor Prue Lange described the Waitaanga area as the “Wild West”. A place with no cellphone coverage, where poaching occurred, and “colourful characters” lived, including Bridson and Hannon.
She told jurors that Bridson had terminal cancer at the time of his death, but lived independently and continued working around the property.
He was also a man who drank a lot of wine and got “a bit mouthy”, Lange said.
Bridson, known as “Yip Yip”, often had friends over and acted as a hunting guide, often in an area behind Hannon’s property.
Lange said Hannon took issue with this and retaliated by shooting his guns while other hunters were in the area.
The ongoing tensions between the pair boiled over into a physical fight in August 2023 when Bridson used a pitchfork and a bottle to give Hannon “a hiding”, she alleged.
Hannon went on to tell people he felt afraid and unsafe, Lange told the jury.
Weeks later, on October 10, 2023, Lange said Bridson picked up bottles of wine and that a Pajero was dropped off at his house as part of a car deal.
That evening, Bridson allegedly set fire to the Pajero.
That same evening, Hannon spoke to his son, who shortly after left the Hamilton area with Howe and travelled to Hannon’s, Lange told jurors.
She said Hannon-McGinn and Howe then made their way over to Bridson’s.
Hannon-McGinn used his father’s 20-gauge shotgun to fire the fatal shot, and Howe was allegedly also armed with a firearm.
The exact times of the shooting and the arson were unclear, Lange said, but evidence showed Bridson was already dead before the fire was started.
Hannon phoned 111 and reported the house fire at 7.39am.
Lange told jurors that Hannon-McGinn and Howe went on to make what appeared to be admissions of guilt to people.
She said Howe allegedly told his girlfriend he had “done something stupid”, and, when pressed, said they had “murdered someone”.
Hannon-McGinn allegedly told a friend that Bridson had been murdered for “f****** with” his father.
Lange said that the friend recalled Hannon-McGinn grinned when he was asked who had done it, and responded: “Sorted it out”.
In her opening address, Hannon-McGinn’s lawyer, Nicola Manning, said Bridson’s death was a tragedy but it was the jury’s job to determine whether it was criminal.
She said that Hannon-McGinn had accepted the arson charge, showing he did not shy away from responsibility when warranted.
He also accepted that he shot and killed Bridson but claimed he had fired the gun in self-defence.
Manning indicated her client would give evidence at trial, and would explain then what he “believed and perceived” to be the circumstances of that evening.
Howe’s lawyer, Jessica Tarrant, said in her opening address that he accepted he was present when Bridson died.
But what matters, she said, was what he did, what he knew and what he intended while at the two properties.
Following the openings, the Crown called Bridson’s brother-in-law, Anthony Kemp, as its first witness.
Kemp said Bridson was humorous and often had “bright ideas, inventions”, some of which he carried out.
“He was an all-around good person.”
Red wine was Bridson’s “poison”, and he would not mince his words if someone annoyed him, he said.
Kemp knew of issues between Bridson and Hannon, and said Bridson had told him that he had on one occasion beaten “the s*** out” of Hannon.
Under cross-examination by Manning, Kemp agreed that Bridson could become fixated and wound up when he had a problem.
He did not agree that Bridson often fell out with people, as suggested by Manning, but accepted that he could say nasty things to people when he had been drinking.
Kemp said Bridson could get “legless drunk”.
The trial before Justice Helen McQueen is set down for four weeks.
Tara Shaskey is an assistant editor and reporter for the Open Justice team. She joined NZME in 2022 and has worked as a journalist since 2014.