Police tell of retrieving victim’s body from river
A detective said he saw a large hole in the right forehead and a small stab wound to the upper chest when he saw the body of sex worker Mellory Manning floating in the Avon River.
Detective Logan Marc Penrose was giving evidence on the fourth day of the trial of a man accused of murdering the 27-year-old, who is formally known as Ngatai Lynette Manning.
Detective Penrose told the court he was called to the Avon River where a body had been found.
Miss Manning was floating face down on the surface of the river, with her hair loose, and no shoes on, he said. The detective described how Miss Manning’s body was retrieved from the river.
He said the police could not find where she had entered the river, and didn’t find her shoes.
Mauha Huatahi Fawcett, 26, who was a Aotearoa Mongrel gang prospect, has denied murdering Miss Manning on or about December 18, 2008, and is defending himself at the trial in the High Court at Christchurch.
A man who picked Miss Manning up from Manchester Street on December 18 had intercourse with her, and said he exchanged texts with her afterwards.
She told him she hadn’t worked on the streets for a while but wanted some money for Christmas.
She said she would like to meet him sometime for coffee, and gave him her phone number.
He shared texts with her that night but after 10.43pm he did not get any replies.
The High Court trial is being held before Justice David Gendall and a jury.
Category: News
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