Wed 5 Dec 2007 In: New Zealand Daily News View at Wayback View at NDHA
The jury of seven women and five men in Palmerston North High Court is expected to retire this afternoon to consider whether 17-year-old Andre Gilling helped his friend Ashley Arnopp murder gay man Stanley Waipouri late last year. Arnopp, 20, changed his plea to guilty on Monday, and will now appear for sentencing in late February. The Crown's case against Gilling was ambiguous "at best", defence lawyer Mike Antunovic told the court yesterday. Gilling had maintained his innocence throughout the trial, and said he had no involvement in the attack Waipouri, except to shake him to try and get him to wake up. Cuts to Gilling's nose and a black eye were caused by tripping over Waipouri's legs as he lay bloodied on the floor of his Rangitikei Street flat, he told the court. Antunovic conceded that forensic evidence heard at the trial "did not paint a pretty picture" for his client. It would never be known whether Waipouri was killed by a single blow or many. Pathologist Katherine White testified that there was a "spectrum of possibilities". Antunovic told the jury that the Crown hadn't proved that any violent injury inflicted by Gilling caused Waipouri's death. Assaulting a corpse couldn't be ruled out, but this did not make Gilling a killer, he added. If any member of the jury was uncertain about Gilling's role in the death, it followed that the Crown had failed to prove its charge - and a 'gut feeling' or suspicion of guilt was insufficient to convict a man of murder, Antunovic said. Crown prosecutor Ben Vanderkolk suggested Gilling was a "practised and cunning liar" whose "consistent approach" was to blame Arnopp. The only distinction between the two accused was that Arnopp had changed his plea, but both men played an equal part in what Vanderkolk told the court was an "explosive episode of violence". Gilling, like Arnopp, had "murderous intent", and must have known that his actions were likely to cause death - "You can be sure the accused is guilty of murder," Mr Vanderkolk concluded.
Credit: GayNZ.com News Staff
First published: Wednesday, 5th December 2007 - 1:41pm