A high court jury today heard that attempted rape by an elderly man whose homosexuality was a "dark secret" may have triggered Ferdinand Ambach's brutal attack which left Ronald Brown dying on his stairs. The suggestion came as the prosecution and defence summed up their respective cases as the trial draws to a close. Drawing together elements such as fecal and semen stains, an unaccounted for 45 minute gap in the timeline of the night of December 7 and 8, 2007, and what he described as Ambach's otherwise unaccountable and horrific rage, the defence lawyer asked the jury to consider that this provocation would mean they should find his client guilty of manslaughter and not murder as charged. The prosecution dismissed out of hand the involvement of drugs and told the jury that the severity of the attack meant Ambach meant to kill Brown. Tomorrow morning the judge will deliver her remarks and the jury will then retire to consider its verdict. A more detailed recounting of today's procedings in the Auckland High Court can be found at the link below.
Credit: GayNZ.com Daily News staff
First published: Monday, 6th July 2009 - 6:40pm