Two youths charged with murdering a Christchurch taxi driver have been committed to the High Court for trial, on the third day of their depositions hearing in the Youth Court.
The defence was reserved for both of them and they declined to enter pleas before Judge John Strettell remanded them to a pre-trial conference on June 19, Christchurch Court News website reported.
Defence counsel Pip Hall for Randall Legion Wiremu Brown, 20, and Elizabeth Bulger for a 16-year-old who is in the Youth Court jurisdiction and cannot be named, accepted there was sufficient evidence to send the pair for trial.
The Crown called nine witnesses during this week's preliminary hearing, and the evidence from the remaining 15 witnesses was handed to the judge in written form.
Afghani refugee Abdulrahman Iktiari was found dead beside his taxi in Worcester Street early on December 6. He was a 39-year-old father-of-five and he had been stabbed in the chest.
A series of witnesses told the court that soon afterwards and in the days that followed, the pair had spoken of having stabbed a taxi driver who stood up to them when they were going to run off without paying the fare.
Sections of the evidence and the summary of facts which was read to the court as part of the Crown's opening statement have been suppressed at the request of the defence.
