Wed 19 Oct 2011 In: New Zealand Daily News View at Wayback View at NDHA
Denis Phillips (left) and the teenager accused of his murder Willie Ahsee (right) 12.25PM: The defence for a teenager accused of murdering a gay Papakura man has put forward its cases for accidental death and self-defence to a jury at the High Court in Auckland, saying while the victim “did not deserve to die” in some ways he brought about his own death by creating the circumstances for it. The defence has closed its case in the murder trial of 17-year-old Willie Ahsee, who it accepts fatally stabbed 59-year-old temporary sworn police officer Denis Phillips in the head on 30 July last year. During the trial two young male witnesses spoke of being hit on by Phillips in his home, and the Crown accepted the victim had a ‘liking' for young men who he would sometimes proposition. “People in Mr Phillips' position have to be careful because what they do and what they like is something they can't share with anyone other than their intended teenager,” Defence lawyer David Jones QC told the jury. “This is not about Mr Phillips being homosexual, this is about him having extremely unhealthy interests in teenage boys,” he said. “If he was heterosexual and the accused was a 16-year-old girl the same dynamic would apply.” Jones painted Phillips as a police worker and former Army man who was used to being in control and getting what he wanted. He said the 17-year-old now on trial for his murder gave evidence he had batted Phillips' hand away when they were drinking at his house and Phillips tried to touch him twice. “And what happened after that was this young man's perfectly understandable reaction to Phillips' anger, he just wanted to go home.” The defence contends that when the drunken teenager picked up a knife from Phillips' kitchen floor and stood up, swinging his arm around, he just wanted the older man to get out of the way so he could go home. In response to Crown criticism of the inconsistencies in Ahsee's evidence, Jones pointed to the defendant's age and asked the jury to look at things from a teenager's perspective, particularly one who was very drunk at the time of the stabbing. “That's the sort of thing an adult does. You try and catch a child out. Willie is not a sophisticated person,” Jones said about the Crown questioning of Ahsee in the stand. “All of that questioning is done to influence you. To make you think a certain way. To make you look at evidence a certain way,” Jones said, suggesting this would be very dangerous for the jury to do and urging it to look at the evidence from the ground up. Jones attacked the Crown's suggestion there had been sexual contact between Ahsee and Phillips in order for the younger man to secure alcohol and gym sessions, saying “Here in closing the Crown is basically asserting that he's a rent boy, when there's no significant basis in evidence to suggest that at all,” he said. “But the thing is if you don't think well of Willie, what you think of Mr Phillips doesn't matter so much, maybe that is the theory.” Jones points out Ahsee already had access to alcohol and stated the sex claims were a “ridiculous and a desperate attempt by the Crown to blacken him illegitimately because of the completely wrong behaviour of Denis Phillips”. Jones claims the Crown has alleged a crime and tried to make things fit, citing the Crown suggestions Ahsee stayed in Phillips' house and spoke to him and helped him shower after the stabbing and altercation. The defence lawyer pointed out the timings from neighbours' accounts of noise to a screaming Ahsee arriving home and police being called as making this impossible. Jones told the jury it must first consider whether Ahsee meant to stab Phillips at all, something he said he didn't. “Is it just an incredibly unfortunate accident?” He put forward. “Has the Crown proved beyond any reasonable doubt that that blow to the left side of the head was not accidental?” He continued. “There's always a concern about someone having to take responsibility when someone dies. But sometimes responsibility is something that can't be attributed to a person.” Jones told the jury that if it has reasonable doubt Ahsee did not mean to hit Phillips with the knife, that ends its inquiry. If it finds it did intend to hit him he told the jury it must then look at whether it was self-defence. He said the dynamic that runs around case is one of an adult male and a 16-year-old boy, who asserts he was on the floor of kitchen and had been assaulted and knew Phillips had been in the Army and talked about killing people. “That's a pretty daunting prospect for 16-year-old, never mind a grossly intoxicated 16-year-old,” Jones said. “It's his head you have to get into and figure out what was going on in it at the time, in the second or so in the kitchen when he was pushed or punched on the floor. “Forensics can only go so far, you have someone telling you what happened.” Following a summing up from the Judge the jury will retire to consider its verdict. GayNZ.com Daily News will post full coverage of the courtroom proceedings today and remain in court untill the jury returns its verdict.
Credit: GayNZ.com Daily News staff
First published: Wednesday, 19th October 2011 - 12:10pm