A 21-year-old Dunedin cleaner who beat his boss to death with a hammer stood emotionless in the dock yesterday, as a jury found him guilty of murder.
Alexander James William Merritt killed 51-year-old Karin Ann Ross early on December 2, 2015, because of a workplace clash over his attitude.
She probably thought little of it but the defendant, convinced he would lose his job, was bent on revenge.
The trial before the High Court at Dunedin heard from more than 40 witnesses over the course of two weeks.
There were at least 700 pages of court transcript for the eight-man, four-woman jury to reference but it only took them an afternoon to unanimously agree Merritt was the killer.
The Spotless Cleaning Services employee was snared by his own sloppiness, leaving police with a trail of evidence.
Police found the murder weapon, along with a bloodied hoodie and glove, in a wheelie bin outside Merritt's Kaikorai home.
Ms Ross' blood was also found throughout the car the defendant had been driving, in his bathroom and on his shoes.
Compelling forensic evidence heard by the court left too much for Merritt's defence team to explain away.
When the verdict was announced in court yesterday, Ms Ross' colleagues, who had nervously waited outside the courtroom for five hours, spontaneously broke into applause.
There were tears from the victim's family and friends who embraced in the public gallery as Justice Nicholas Davidson thanked the jurors for their efforts.
While emotion overflowed just metres away, Merritt remained stone-faced in the dock and made no gesture to his parents as he was led away by guards.
Ms Ross' partner, Richard Leckie, who repeatedly heard horrific evidence in relation to the woman's death during the trial, said the process was ''harrowing''.
When asked how it felt now the ordeal was finally over he said: ''As you'd expect''.
With tears in his eyes, Mr Leckie said the focus would now have to switch to Ms Ross' family.
''There's two kids left after this, so it's just the beginning really,'' he said.
He did not know what the future held for him.
''Where do I go from here? Good question,'' Mr Leckie said.
Merritt's parents, Sharon and Rick, hurriedly left court, escorted by police, and made no comment.
The 21-year-old was remanded in custody and will be sentenced on December 13.
Merritt will receive a mandatory term of life imprisonment with a minimum non-parole period of at least 10 years, unless Justice Davidson rules that to be manifestly unjust.
There is a provision in law for the most serious cases of murder to attract a minimum period of at least 17 years unless that would be manifestly unjust.
That includes where the murder was committed with a ''high level of brutality, cruelty, depravity or callousness''.
- By Rob Kidd
