A Dunedin man who was the subject of an arrest warrant to appear at the David Bain trial says he has lodged a complaint with the New Zealand Law Society about defence counsel Michael Reed QC.
Dean Cottle, the alleged pimp of Laniet Bain, contacted the Otago Daily Times last week to say he discovered from family members a warrant had last Tuesday been issued by the High Court at Christchurch for his arrest.
The ODT has been unable until now to publish Mr Cottle's claims, on legal advice.
On Thursday, a police spokeswoman confirmed the arrest warrant had been withdrawn.
Mr Cottle was called by the defence to be a witness in the trial of 37-year-old David Bain, accused of shooting dead his 18-year-old sister Laniet and four other family members at the family home in Every St, Dunedin on June 20, 1994.
Mr Cottle was to be the last witness for the defence.
The jury was informed he had left the country and a warrant had been issued for his arrest.
Justice Graham Panckhurst told jurors last week that Mr Cottle on May 13 had evaded a witness summons.
Mr Cottle told the ODT he had not been served with a subpoena to appear at the trial, and left Dunedin for Australia on May 16 on business.
He declined to say where he was but the ODT understands he is likely to return to New Zealand within a week.
Mr Cottle said he took exception to statements made by Mr Reed in the High Court that police had been unable to locate him at his home or at work.
According to his family, nobody had visited his work or private home to serve papers, he said.
A complaint had been filed to the New Zealand Law Society about Mr Reed's statement to the High Court, he said.
A New Zealand Law Society Lawyers Complaints Service spokeswoman said complaints were confidential "though a Standards Committee may direct publication of a decision if it considers that to be in the public interest".
Mr Reed last week said he "was not prepared to comment on anything to do with the case until it has ended".
Mr Cottle's statement to police on June 23, 1994, and another made on June 26, 1995, was read at the trial.
The first said Mr Cottle became friends with Laniet, who told him she was working as a prostitute and had been having sex with her father for years.
In the second he said Laniet had been agitated when she talked to him on June 17, 1994, three days before the murder.
