July 26, 2010

Self defence claims at murder trial

Timothy Constable murder trial, Day 1 update. By Anne Clarkson

Men charged with the murder of Timothy John Constable have said they acted in self-defence against a man armed with a pistol in the melee in which the 24-year-old was beaten and stabbed to death.

Their lawyers have outlined the defence case to the jury in opening statements on the first day of the Christchurch High Court trial where three men are charged with Mr Constable’s murder and two women are charged with assaulting him.

The crown acknowledged that Mr Constable turned up with a gun that night in August last year, but it says the gun was an imitation and two of those present knew that.

Defence counsel for 21-year-old Adam Robert Gempton, Rupert Glover, said Gempton acknowledged he had the knife and he used it on Mr Constable.

He said he was in the bedroom of the house with his toddler daughter after everyone else had gone out to confront Mr Constable.

He heard gunshots, and saw Mr Constable attack Shaharna Hickey, his partner, and Shahana Coombs.

He said he rushed at Mr Constable when he saw he had a gun pointed at Shaharna Hickey, who was on the ground. Mr Constable was stomping on her head.

The stabbing was an accident, he did not mean to use the knife, Mr Glover said. He had no murderous intent, he just wanted to stop him. He was using a knife against a gun, and genuinely trying to rescue the two women.

Nick Rout, who is defence counsel for Steven Wayne Bright, 26, said Bright also had a child in the house.

Mr Rout said Mr Constable was dangerous. He came to the house after they had made it clear he wasn’t welcome.

He had a gun which he was holding at their head height, and he was threatening them and their families. They did not know if it was a real gun or not. Shots were fired from it, and Bright was protecting himself and his loved ones.

He said they all feared Mr Constable, and he had made threats on the phone to all of them.

His partner, Shahana Coombs, was unconscious on the ground.

He was attacked by Mr Constable, and chased Mr Constable’s father down the street. When he turned around Mr Constable was lying in the gutter dying, but he didn’t know how he had been hurt. He tried CPR on him but was unsuccessful, Mr Rout said.

Tony Greig said Levi Coombs, 18, tried to persuade Mr Constable to leave his family alone. He knew he could be violent and he carried weapons. He struck Mr Constable once in the stomach with his patu (club), and when that didn’t stop him he hit the car windows with it. His sister was knocked out, his mother was hurt, and Mr Constable was still attacking people so he hit him on the head and fractured his skull. He was trying to defend himself, and his family, from death or serious harm, Mr Greig said.

Trudi Aickin said Shahana Coombs, 21, had no memory of the night. She was knocked unconscious early on.

The Coombs family were aware of the volatile, violent relationship between Mr Constable and Gisinda Coombs, and Miss Coombs had bruises to show for it, she said.

Mr Constable used P and introduced Miss Coombs to it. He owned a gun, and he had gang associations.

The texts and phone calls during that evening were offensive and threatening, she said.

Shahana Coombs was wholly driven by the desire to protect her younger sister from serious harm, Ms Aickin said.

Shaharna Hickey, 23, assaulted Mr Constable that evening in self defence and the defence of Shahana Coombs, Margaret Sewell told the court.

She had known Mr Constable for a number of years, and knew of his violence.

The trial is expected to take four weeks.