Rakai Jacob Thompson (left inset) is on trial in the High Court at New Plymouth, charged with the murder of Te Omeka Pairama Akariri-Buckley.
A man had a knife on him before using it to fatally stab his close friend because he had been making a meat sandwich and needed to cut up the steak chunks.
At least, that is what the trial of Rakai Thompson, who is accused of murdering 17-year-old Te Omeka Pairama Akariri-Buckley, heard Thompson had claimed.
A witness who was inside Thompson’s Waitara home in Taranaki when Akariri-Buckley was stabbed on the driveway said she had made a cottage pie using steak pieces for dinner that evening.
She had tidied up the kitchen, put everything away, except the pie dish, and left the boning knife she used to make the meal in the dish rack.
Later, salt, pepper, bread and butter were found on the bench next to the dish.
After Thompson’s arrest, he told police he’d had the knife on him when Akariri-Buckley and his brother Don Akariri-Buckley arrived at his house, because he was using it to make a sandwich, the trial heard.
Thompson said he had bad teeth and needed to cut up the meat.
The witness, who has name suppression, confirmed Thompson had issues with his back teeth and that she had not left the sandwich-making items on the bench.
A key to the car Thompson had been driving that night was also next to the pie dish, as was the boning knife.
The witness said she had put the knife on the bench when Don Akariri-Buckley handed it to her after Te Omeka Akariri-Buckley was stabbed.
Thompson’s two-week trial in the High Court at New Plymouth began on Monday.
The jury has heard that Te Omeka Akariri-Buckley died after being stabbed by Thompson, 26, early on July 30 last year.
Earlier, the Akariri-Buckley brothers, Thompson and their friend, Anthony Kipa, had spent the evening unsuccessfully sheep-rustling at two locations in Taranaki, in a bid to fill their freezers.
As the night wore on, the group’s dynamic began to sour with arguments breaking out between Thompson and the brothers.
The Crown claimed Thompson, a landscaper at the time, became increasingly “angered and agitated” and, after returning home, contacted Don Akariri-Buckley and told him to pick up a road bike he had borrowed from him.
He was standing on his verandah, with the boning knife in hand, when the brothers arrived shortly after.
While the Crown claimed what ensued was murder, the defence accepted Thompson stabbed the teen but argued he did not intentionally cause his death, and his actions were in self-defence.
They say that Thompson had long been mistreated by the brothers, describing him as their “whipping boy”, and he was sick of the abuse.
He wanted to sever ties with them, hence his asking for the bike to be collected.
He did not want a confrontation but was carrying the knife out of fear.
During a scuffle on the driveway between Te Omeka and Thompson, Thompson was punched in the head several times, the jury has heard.
Defence claimed that in the brief seconds that followed, he stabbed Te Omeka out of “instinct and fear”, and immediately after tried to help save his life.
Another witness who gave evidence yesterday was Thompson’s then neighbour, Atalya Fakavamoeanga.
That evening, she heard loud voices, swearing, and someone yelling “help”.
As Fakavamoeanga ran over to the house, she started a video recording on her phone, explaining, “I didn’t know what I was running into”.
That video was played to the jury, and while it failed to capture any visuals of the scene, the audio was clear.
When Fakavamoeanga arrived, she found a girl hysterically crying at the top of the driveway.
That girl pointed down the driveway, at Te Omeka Akariri-Buckley, Don Akariri-Buckley and Thompson.
Fakavamoeanga immediately began to help Te Omeka Akariri-Buckley by talking to him, checking his pulse and trying to keep him conscious.
She worked to stem his bleeding and directed Thompson, who she said was trying to help, to do the same.
Fakavamoeanga could also be heard relaying information to emergency services, and said she initiated CPR on Te Omeka Akariri-Buckley.
In evidence, she recalled Thompson remained with her, by Te Omeka Akariri-Buckley, the whole time.
At one point, she had to try to keep Thompson and Don Akariri-Buckley apart, describing their interactions as “heated”.
Fakavamoeanga said Thompson stated he stabbed Te Omeka Akariri-Buckley once, and she believed he was shocked when multiple stab wounds were discovered.
The video captured Thompson yelling that he had been protecting his “life and property”.
“I’m scared of this c..., he’s taken over my whole life,” he was heard saying, as well as “I told you not to f*** with me.”
Don Akariri-Buckley could be heard calling him a “gutless piece of s***” while Don Akariri-Buckley and Thompson also encouraged Te Omeka Akariri-Buckley.
“You’ve got this, my G. You’re strong,” one of them said.
A voice pleaded to emergency services to “please hurry up”.
Another neighbour, Matthew Gordon-Stables, gave evidence that he had heard continued yelling and arguing at Thompson’s address.
When he looked outside, he saw Thompson deliver “jabs” to Te Omeka Akariri-Buckley in quick succession.
Gordon-Stables heard a scream, “like someone was in pain”, and saw Te Omeka Akariri-Buckley crouch before standing up and then collapsing.
He heard Don Akariri-Buckley yell, “You stabbed my brother”.
He said Thompson yelled out, “Yeah”, while raising his arms in the air.