Hungarian tourist Ferdinand Ambach, accused of the late December killing of gay Onehunga man Ron Brown, is now scheduled to face trial next year at Auckland's High Court. Ambach pleaded not guilty to charges of murder, intentional damage, and assault on Brown at his depositions hearing last month. However, lawyers for the prosecution and defense have both agreed that there is a prima facie case to answer and the case will therefore go to trial. Police, alerted by neighbours who heard screaming and shattering glass, found Ambach upstairs in an agitated state in Brown's Onehunga home in the early hours of Saturday 8 December 2007. Brown was slumped unconscious and badly injured downstairs, his home had been trashed and household effects including a bed had been thrown through upstairs windows. Ambach is scheduled to go before the High Court on 19 November in a pre-trial conference session, with a stand-by trial date set for 20 April 2009. He remains in police custody until his trial.
Credit: GayNZ.com News Staff
First published: Wednesday, 20th August 2008 - 10:36pm