Burned to death for money

Two men accused of burning their friend to death on a rural south Auckland road did so because they "wanted his money at any cost", the Crown says.

Bryne Permal, 22, and Shivneel Kumar, 20, are charged with the murder of Shalvin Prasad after his charred body was found on January 31, 2013.

Crown prosecutor Aaron Perkins said Kumar was "the instigator and driving force" behind the alleged crime.

"He considered a sum of money was worth more than Mr Prasad's life," he told the High Court at Auckland this morning.

Alarm bells rang with Mr Prasad's family when his father checked his son's bank account and found $30,050 missing on January 30.

His smouldering body was found early the next day by a woman walking her dog on McRobbie Rd in Kingseat.

"At first it seemed to be a large piece of burned wood but as she approached, what she realised was that it was a badly burned human body," Mr Perkins said.


Police were able to identify the victim only after analysing the fingerprints and pathologists were almost certain the man had been alive when doused in petrol and set alight.

Mr Perkins said medical professionals would give evidence of finding the accelerant in Mr Prasad's bloodstream and lungs which led them to that conclusion.

The victim's father is expected to tell the court his son was "naïve and immature" and spent most of his time at his work in a supermarket or at home with the family.

Mr Perkins told the jury Mr Prasad had previously loaned Mr Kumar more than $8000, which resulted in his family taking legal action to try to recover it.

On the day of his death, it is alleged the victim withdrew his entire savings, for which the Crown says he was ultimately killed.

Mr Perkins also highlighted the importance of text messages between the two accused, which police had obtained through search warrants.

The pair appeared cagier in intercepted phone calls, he said, but they felt more secure in Kumar's car.

The court heard how police bugged the vehicle and there was a particularly "interesting conversation" that took place between the defendants just days after the alleged murder.

The trial before Justice Geoffrey Venning and a jury of six women and six men is expected to last four weeks.

- NZME.

 

- Rob Kidd of NZME. News Service