Mon 10 Dec 2012 In: New Zealand Daily News View at Wayback View at NDHA
Phillip Cottrell One of the men accused of murdering gay Wellington man Phillip Cottrell allegedly told his girlfriend that the man "looked gay" so his friend “got smart” to him before he was attacked. The Radio New Zealand journalist died in hospital after being attacked on a central Wellington footpath a year ago today. He died in hospital the next day. Two men, Nicho Waipuka, 20, and Manuel Robinson, 18, are on trial at the High Court at Wellington accused of his murder. Waipuka's girlfriend Sylvanna Robinson-Stepien has given evidence at the High Court in Wellington this morning. She is also Robinson’s cousin. Following Waipuka’s arrest she told police the pair had related to her they saw a man walking who Robinson thought looked "gay" so he got smart to him. However she told the court today that, and her statements about the pair attacking Cottrell, were all a lie. “It's the most rubbish shit I've heard in my life,” she told the court, according to media reports, when the Crown Prosecutor relayed her statements to police. She also claimed police were corrupt. "I have depression and anxiety because of all of this and I am not in any frame of mind to answer anything," she added. Robinson-Stepien had to be arrested after she did not appear to take the stand last week.
Credit: GayNZ.com Daily News staff
First published: Monday, 10th December 2012 - 3:58pm