Witness killed hitch-hiker, defence tells court

A one-handed man pulled a gun on a motorist who tried to stop him strangling a 17-year-old woman in a water-filled ditch, the High Court at Auckland heard yesterday.

In his opening address, Crown prosecutor Richard Marchant said the motorist, Brett Muirson, beat a hasty retreat and called police.

But it was too late to save hitch-hiker Jennifer Hargreaves, whose body was found lying in the ditch at Patumahoe.

Before the court is Shane Thomas Hoko, 32, unemployed of Pukekohe, who is charged with murdering Ms Hargreaves last December 3.

Hoko, represented by Barry Hart and Mike Levett, is also charged with aggravated wounding, which relates to allegedly pulling the gun on Mr Muirson.

But in cross-examination, Mr Hart accused a prosecution witness, Shane Matthews, of being the real killer.

He said Mr Matthews had wanted to have his way with Ms Hargreaves and beat and strangled her while Hoko was absent.

It would be Hoko's case that when he returned to the scene, the woman was dead, lying in the water.

Mr Matthews denied Mr Hart's allegations.

Mr Marchant told the jury that Ms Hargreaves, a former Diocesan School for Girls student, was hitching from her boyfriend's home in Papakura to Invercargill for a family reunion with her birth mother from the United States.

She was picked up by Hoko and Mr Matthews, smoking some cannabis and drinking alcohol with them in a layby.

Later she was taken to an address in Papakura.

Mr Marchant said Mr Matthews offered to give her a ride home in his car but Hoko said he would take her in his green Corolla.

Mr Matthews told the court that he left at that stage and returned to his home in Henderson.

Mr Marchant said a number of people had seen the Corolla with two occupants parked in Cuff Rd, Patumahoe, that afternoon.

Hoko had later told friends and family that there was another person present who had killed Ms Hargreaves, but Mr Marchant said witnesses spoke of just two people.

Hoko claimed that after dragging the other man off "the sheila", he beat him up, put him in his car, drove off and pushed him out later.

Mr Marchant said motorist Mr Muirson had his two sons, aged 11 and 12, in his van when he saw a Maori man with only one hand lying on top of a woman in the ditch.

Mr Muirson told the man: "She had better be alive" and was told: "It's all right. She's my missus."

Mr Muirson asked him to prove it by getting her to wave an arm.

The man replied: "It's my missus" and started kissing her seductively on the lips, said Mr Marchant.

When Mr Muirson said he was going to call the police, the man started rummaging around in his car and pulled out a gun.

Mr Muirson backed his van off quickly and called police.

The man, who the Crown says was Hoko, drove off at high speed.

Hoko had said later that he "would get 20 years" for what he had done.

Mr Marchant said there would also be evidence of Hoko shaving his head and beard at a friend's place soon after the killing. His burned car was found nearby.

Mr Marchant told the jury that the issue was whether the killing was committed by Hoko or the other man, whom no one had seen.

Ms Hargreaves' adopted father, John Hargreaves of Drury, told the court that his daughter was trusting and a bit naive; someone who always took people at face value.

Her boyfriend, Mark West, said he had tried to persuade her not to hitchhike and had offered to buy an air ticket.

He received two phone calls from Ms Hargreaves on the afternoon she was killed. She seemed happy and said she was with two Black Power men, both called Shane.

In the first call he heard someone tell her to put the phone down and she said she had to go.

She said they were going to buy her a plane ticket to Invercargill because they "did not want to see a young girl get hurt".

In the second call, Ms Hargreaves said the pair had pretended to try to rape her by locking her in a car.

Mr West told the court she said they were going to take her home in 10 minutes, but she never arrived.

The trial, before Justice Rhys Harrison, is expected to last up to three weeks.