May 06, 2013

Crown alleges sleeper hold or drowning caused death

By David Clarkson. Nikki Roper murder trial, Day 1.?The Crown alleges that a young Christchurch mother was murdered with a carotid or sleeper hold, or possibly drowned in a pot of water, by her ex-boyfriend Nikki Roper.

Roper himself ? in his third police interview ? admitted the killing but said that he had held her head after she had filled a pot of water and put her head in it.

The 24-year-old told police that Alexsis Maria Tovizi had held his hand in place with her own hand for some of the time while she drowned.

The Crown will call evidence from 42 witnesses in the two-week murder trial before Justice Forrest Miller in the High Court at Christchurch.

Roper is charged with the murder in December 2010, also with unlawfully taking Miss Tovizi?s car, stealing her laptop, and dishonestly using her Kiwibank eftpos card five times for automatic teller withdrawals and purchases.

The Crown alleges the murder took place between December 5 and 9, 2010, with the vehicle and the woman?s laptop taken on December 6, and the bankcard frauds committed over five days from December 6. They allege withdrawals of $150 and $300 and purchases at a shoe shop, McDonalds, and a dairy. Roper denies all charges.

Crown prosecutor Marcus Zintl told the court the trial would include evidence of what Roper said to other prison inmates while he was in prison on remand.

He was remanded in custody for an earlier incident at Cowles Stadium in which it was alleged he had tried to strangle Miss Tovizi. When he was released from prison, he told another inmate: ?I?ll be back for the big one. I?ll kill the bitch.?

After her death, he spoke to another inmate who had pleaded guilty to a murder. He told the inmate he was dumb to plead guilty. ?I pleaded not guilty and I killed my missus.?

Two pathologists examined Miss Tovizi?s body after it was found in her son?s bed at her property in Stanmore Road, a few days after she was allegedly killed.

Both suggested the cause of death was probably asphyxiation which could be caused by neck compression ? such as the sleeper hold ? drug overdose, or heart disease. Heart disease was ruled out, and a toxicology report ruled out an overdose.

They noticed a small linear bruise to her neck which could be attributable to compression of her neck while she was wearing some sort of small necklace.

?The Crown says he had a propensity to use violence and strangulation, or the sleeper hold, which the Crown says was the cause of her death.?

On the night when the Crown said she died, Roper had sent texts to her current boyfriend saying that he was with her and had been with her all day.

It would also call evidence to show that he left the property in her car, with her laptop and cellphone, and with?her three-year-old son in the car. It would call evidence about his use of her bankcard over the next few days.

The Crown will call evidence from an ex-girlfriend of Roper?s who said he had tried to strangle her during sex and she nearly passed out.

He allegedly told another friend that Miss Tovizi had wanted to die and had started drowning herself. He had pushed her head down and when she stopped pushing he had kept going.

He told other people that he had killed his girlfriend ? he has her name tattooed on his cheek ? for cheating, and that he had put the sleeper hold on her and then drowned her when she was asleep. He said he then tried to revive her, and put her in bed.