A Hungarian tourist accused of beating a 69-year-old man with a banjo and ramming its broken neck down his throat said he was touched on the thigh when he went back to the man's house.
Ferdinand Ambach, 32, a dive master in Hungary, has pleaded not guilty in the High Court at Auckland to murdering Ronald Brown in Onehunga, Auckland.
Mr Brown's battered body was found at his flat in the early hours of December 7, 2007. He died three days later in hospital after his life support was switched off.
The jury, of three men and nine woman, was told by crown prosecutor Deborah Marshall that the accused met Mr Brown in 306 Bar in Onehunga, before he went back to his house.
Ambach told the court he had drunk about nine beers that night.
Ms Marshall asked Ambach if Mr Brown was friendly to him, and he agreed.
He also agreed that he did not feel threatened or uncomfortable with Mr Brown. They left and went to a liquor store, and were seen joking around.
Ambach was seen putting his hands around Mr Brown's head and on his shoulder.
"In front of the camera you pretend to strangle yourself, and pretend to cut your throat with a knife cutting action?" Ms Marshall asked Ambach.
"It's possible, yes," he replied.
"At the end you pretend to shoot yourself in the head?" Ms Marshall asked Ambach.
"Yes," he replied.
Ms Marshall asked Ambach if he was feeling fine at the liquor store and he agreed.
"You had no problem with Mr Brown touching your shoulder at the liquor store?" Ms Marshall asked Ambach.
He replied, "no".
Ambach told the court he did not consider Mr Brown's intentions at that stage, and he was happy to go with him to his home.
The court heard they had a beer at Mr Brown's house, followed by several whisky and cokes.
Ms Marshall asked Ambach if the whisky and coke tasted gritty. He said he did not remember.
Ambach said Mr Brown knelt in front of him and touched him on his inner thighs.
"He was touching me on the outside of my trousers," Ambach said.
"He was caressing me. He touched my inner thigh.
"I told him I was not gay using English words but I don't remember what I said," Ambach told the court.
"Did you know the English word gay?" Ms Marshall asked Ambach.
He said he didn't think so.
"So you think you told him in English that you were not homosexual?" Ms Marshall asked.
Ambach agreed, and he told the court they were both embarrassed by the situation.
But he said he was still happy to stay in the house.
The court heard they agreed they should forget the situation and have another drink.
"We drank our drinks and then he started to touch me again. In a matter of seconds he jumped at me and grabbed my shoulder. Then I stepped back," Ambach said.
"Why didn't you push him away?" Ms Marshall asked Ambach.
"I stepped back and told him to stop," Ambach said.
But he said he did not remember what happened next.
Ambach said he felt afraid but he could not find the front door.
"You had come through the front door with Mr Brown. The lounge is very small and from anywhere in the lounge you can see the front door and the sliding doors to the deck.
"Is it something that you've made up since you spoke to police?" Ms Marshall asked Ambach.
"I have not made it up. It just did not seem relevant at the time.
"The reason why I could not find the entrance was because I couldn't walk," Ambach said.
Ms Marshall told Ambach that he had said in evidence to his defence lawyer Peter Kaye that he remembered being chased and he couldn't stand up at one stage.
Ambach's police interview was read out, in which he said he had thrown items at Mr Brown.
"I was throwing objects randomly in every direction. There was no target," Ambach said.
