A disabled Wairarapa supermarket worker was bashed so severely he was brain-dead, according to evidence from an intensive care specialist at the trial of a group of people on trial over his murder.
Glen Jones, 40, died after an attack at his Featherston home last January.
Five people are on trial before Justice Alan MacKenzie and a jury in the High Court at Wellington.
Four of the five - Kristofer Jones, 23, Tariana Jones,33, Matthew McKinney, 29, and Hayden Ranson, 28, - have been charged with murder of Mr Jones.
A fifth person, Toni Miller, 23, is standing trial on a charge of aggravated burglary with a wooden bat and an axe handle.
A statement of evidence from Dr Christopher Poynter, who saw Mr Jones when he was brought into Wellington Regional Hospital the morning of the attack, said he had a severe open head wound and facial injuries.
His pupils were also fixed and dilated indicating brain death, the statement from Dr Poynter - an intensive care specialist at Capital and Coast District Health Board - said.
"It was agreed that Glen was brain dead."
The Crown case is Mr Jones was attacked by the four defendants charged with murder in his Featherston flat, while Miller waited on the street.
The attack was in retaliation for the alleged rape of a woman, Crown Prosecutor Grant Burston said yesterday. The woman, who was known to the group had made a complaint of rape with the police the month before Mr Jones was attacked. She said he had raped her at his flat when she went to drop off some mail the previous month.
The court has been told Mr Jones had some disabilities, including learning difficulties and epilepsy. He lived independently at his small flat on Fitzherbert St and had worked at a supermarket for 15 years.
The trial continues.
The accused:
* Kristofer Jones, 23 - pleaded not guilty to murder and aggravated burglary with a wooden bat and an axe handle
* Tariana Jones, 33 - pleaded not guilty to murder and aggravated burglary with a wooden bat and an axe handle
* Matthew McKinney, 29 - pleaded not guilty to murder, but guilty to aggravated burglary with a wooden bat and an axe handle
* Hayden Ranson, 28 - pleaded not guilty to murder , but guilty to aggravated burglary with a wooden bat and an axe handle.
* Toni Miller - standing trial for a charge of aggravated burglary with a wooden bat and an axe handle
