Just minutes after the interview ended, his worst fears were realised, when news came from the hospital that 16-year-old Enere Taana-McLaren had not survived.
The now 14-year-old defendant has pleaded not guilty to murder and yesterday the High Court at Dunedin heard he was ‘‘extremely distressed’’ and pulled his hoodie up over his face when told the stabbing had been fatal.
After nearly a week of evidence, the jury heard from the teenager for the first time yesterday when his police interview, filmed only hours after the incident at the bus hub on May 23, was played.
The teen sat down with Detective Shelley Dodds and described getting off the bus, planning to visit a friend in Macandrew Bay.
He said as he passed Enere, the Trinity College student told him to pull down his socks and called him ‘‘b .... boy’’.
‘‘He was taller than me and ... I was afraid of him.
‘‘I’ve been bullied before and I’ve been assaulted before.
‘‘That’s why I had a weapon on me today.
‘‘I didn’t have any intentions of using it on anyone.
‘‘I put my hand in the bag on the handle of the knife.
‘‘My intention was to pull it out, wave it around and do something, probably make him scared or something.’’
But he said Enere challenged him to withdraw the weapon.
Det Dodds asked him how regularly he would carry a knife.
‘‘Pretty often,’’ the teenager replied.
‘‘It kind of gives me the sense of protection.’’
Before the interview concluded, Det Dodds asked the teen if he understood whether stabbing someone was wrong.
He said he did — ‘‘because someone could potentially die from those injuries’’.
Pathologist Andrew Gilkison said Enere suffered a stab wound, 2.3cm long and up to 12cm deep, to the left of his abdomen, which punctured the body’s largest vein.
The wound was so serious the victim’s heart had stopped on arrival at hospital.
Despite urgent surgery, ‘‘too much damage had already occurred’’, Dr Gilkison said.
The jury also saw the defendant being interviewed by police almost a year before the bus-hub stabbing — this time in the role of victim.
He described walking to a friend’s house through Halfway Bush Park in August 2023 and being confronted by three males and a female.
The defendant said one of the boys held a 14-inch ‘‘dagger’’ while another demanded his possessions.
He told police he was punched in the face, kicked, put in a chokehold and had his lollies and chips stolen from his backpack.
The assailants ran off when a construction worker from a nearby site witnessed what was happening and called out.
That man later told police he had seen the defendant being put in a headlock but had not seen a weapon.
Detective Sergeant Neil Lowden said a 17-year-old — whose name was suppressed — was referred to police’s Youth Aid, but no further action was taken other than informing the boy’s school.
The Crown case is expected to finish today, after which the defence will elect whether or not to call evidence.
