Police followed a trail of blood that helped them catch an alleged killer, an Auckland jury heard yesterday.
In his opening address, Crown prosecutor Steve Haszard told the High Court that Taleni Tuese badly cut his finger as he broke a bourbon bottle over Tioka Faaleila's head and beat him around
the head with a rock.
"It was bleeding quite badly and there was a blood trail from the scene ... The police were able to follow the trail to the general area where Tuese was living."
Mr Haszard said that the trail stopped because Tuese, 27, took off a sock to stem the blood flow.
The Crown says that 43-year-old Mr Faaleila, also known as Sam Kini Tua, was heavily intoxicated but in a happy mood when he was attacked while sitting in a bus shelter in Bader Drive, Mangere, around 4am on August 29 last year.
Tuese is accused of Mr Tua's murder.
Tuese had been socialising in the Apia Way nightclub.
Mr Haszard said there were no eye witnesses, but what happened could be reconstructed from painstaking forensic evidence and from the pathologist's examination.
"The Crown allegation is that Tuese approached Mr Tua while he was sitting in the bus shelter and struck him a number of times causing him fatal brain injuries."
The injuries were so bad that his life support was turned off the following day.
Mr Haszard said that at first Tuese denied any involvement, but could not explain the presence of his blood at the scene.
In a second interview he told police that three other men were responsible for the beating and that he played only a minor role. However, he later acknowledged being the only one involved.
In a brief opening statement, defence counsel, Panama Le'au'anae told the jury that Tuese acknowledged there was an altercation but said there would be evidence that his client did not initiate the fight. The issue was whether Tuese had murderous intent.
The trial continues today.
