A Central Hawke's Bay man who was stabbed three times during
a confrontation outside a rural tavern had moments before
wielded a gun case like a baseball bat, striking his
assailant on the side of his body, a witness told the High
Court at Napier today.
Mark Allan McCutcheon was found dead in his utility a few
kilometres from the Sandford Tavern at Ongaonga on January 24
last year. He had a stab wound in his back and two in his
chest, one of them proving fatal.
Witnesses said he drove away after the confrontation in the
carpark but his ute was found next morning in a paddock.
Hulio Henry Ataria, 23, is charged before Justice Alan
Mackenzie with Mr McCutcheon's murder.
Giving video-link evidence from the United States on the
second day of the trial, shearer Craig James Turfrey said he
was drinking outside the tavern with Mr McCutcheon and
another man when they heard a disturbance near the front
door.
They saw a patched Mongrel Mob member, whose name is
suppressed, arguing with his girlfriend who was sitting in a
car parked beside the tavern. The accused Ataria, who was a
mob "prospect" or potential member, was standing nearby.
Mr Turfrey said the mob member was "laying into his missus,
pushing and shoving at her" .
Mr McCutcheon told them to leave the tavern carpark a number
of times during a verbal exchange with the mob member and
then walked across the road to his ute and took out a gun
case.
Mr Turfrey said he heard the mob member telling Ataria to
"get him" (McCutcheon) and the accused ran about 20 metres to
the ute, where Mr McCutcheon swung the gun case at him "like
a baseball bat". He thought Ataria was struck on the arm or
side of his body.
There was a brief scuffle before both Mr McCutcheon's friends
and the mob member and another man known as Bruiser also went
over the road.
The gun case was taken off Mr McCutcheon by Ataria and given
to the mob member. It was retrieved by Mr Turfrey who gave it
to the tavern owner Patrick Quin for safekeeping. The gun was
not removed from the case during the incident.
Mr Turfrey said he did not see Ataria holding anything during
the scuffle, apart from the gun case.
In cross-examination by defence counsel Paul Mabey, Mr
Turfrey agreed that he had put his hands on Mr McCutcheon's
shoulders in a restraining motion during the argument with
the mob member outside the tavern. Mr McCutcheon was "fired
up" but he did not remember him saying he was going to get a
gun.
Mr Turfrey's partner, Malinda (crrct) Anne Reidy, who also
gave evidence by video link, was working on the bar at the
tavern that night and said she had seen the mob member being
asked to leave the bar by the publican.
She went outside after being told her partner was fighting
and saw some sort of disagreement going on between Mr
McCutcheon and the mob member.
"It looked like Mark McCutcheon was pretty wound up. Craig
(Turfrey) had his arm around his shoulders telling him 'it's
not worth it'," she said.
During cross-examination she said she didn't consider Mr
McCutcheon was "really wound up --- but he was angry".
She walked up to him and tapped him on the shoulder, telling
him and her partner to come back inside the tavern. She
thought they had followed her but they remained outside where
the exchange with the mob member continued.
Ms Reidy confirmed Mr McCutcheon had been drunk large bottles
of beer and a whisky during the evening.
The trial is continuing.
