The Dunedin dwelling the place a former Christchurch man was bludgeoned to demise was sprayed with blood and items of flesh, a courtroom has heard.
The jury on the trial of 39-year-old John Kenneth Collins — charged with the homicide of Brent Andrew Bacon (45) — was proven an array of photographs within the Excessive Court docket at Dunedin yesterday as witnesses detailed the state of the scene on the St Clair unit.
On February 4, 2019, Collins beat the person to demise with a cricket bat which was later discovered inside a garbage bag in the home, break up into two items.
The underside a part of the weapon, which was proven to the jury yesterday, was coated within the sufferer’s blood and hair, forensic scientist Rosalyn Tough mentioned.
She spent many of the day within the witness field setting out the findings from her investigation at 47 Lock St.
Whereas there was blood spatter on the ground, ceiling and furnishings, she additionally recognized two areas on the partitions the place there have been wipe marks.
A bottle of lavender disinfectant discovered on the kitchen desk additionally had blood on the deal with, the courtroom heard.
Crown prosecutor Pip Norman in her opening deal with on Monday mentioned clean-up efforts appeared to have been rapidly deserted as a “futile endeavour” earlier than the deal with was vacated.
Ms Tough recognized three influence websites in distinct areas of the cramped lounge.
Two of them, she mentioned, probably got here at a peak of lower than 50cm.
Pictures of the lounge confirmed a big patch of blood in the course of the ground together with pores and skin and bone fragments.
It was proof of serious injury to Mr Bacon’s head, mentioned Ms Tough.
Amongst all of it have been the sufferer’s bloodstained jandals.
She was cross-examined by Len Andersen QC about whether or not the presence of a 3rd particular person would change her conclusions.
Whereas Ms Tough maintained her stance, she acknowledged there have been many variables concerned in her work.
After the incident, it’s accepted Collins, and his companion 32-year-old Aleisha Dawson, pressured the sufferer’s physique right into a blue sleeping bag, loaded it into his Toyota people-mover and dumped it underneath a tree beside a rural highway off State Freeway 1 north of Dunedin.
It was observed by a bicycle owner two weeks after the alleged homicide, and simply hours after the scene at 47 Lock St was found.
The courtroom earlier heard Mr Bacon had moved to Dunedin to stay along with his sister and brother-in-law Lia and Sam Bezett, following years of drug and mental-health struggles.
The sufferer knew Collins and Dawson from when he lived in Christchurch and would typically spend evenings at their Lock St dwelling, the place that they had resided from November 2018.
After fleeing north after the incident, the pair bought Mr Bacon’s automotive to a backpackers and bought a ferry to the North Island.
They have been discovered by police on February 20 in a parking lot in Rotorua.
Collins instructed interviewers Mr Bacon had been paranoid on February 4 and “got here at him”, fist raised and searching offended.
He described utilizing the bat overarm “like swinging an axe” however mentioned he didn’t intend to hit Mr Bacon.
The defendant mentioned he hit him maybe twice extra earlier than however might keep in mind no extra as a result of he “blacked out”.
Mr Andersen mentioned his consumer had no murderous intent.
Mr Bacon suffered fractures to his cranium and face, in addition to damaged bones in his palms which Ms Norman mentioned have been in keeping with defensive accidents.
Dawson pleaded responsible and was earlier sentenced as an adjunct to murder.
The trial, earlier than Justice Jan-Marie Doogue, will hear right now from medical witnesses who examined Mr Bacon.
