A series of incidents caught on camera at a Queenstown home were either an attempt to extract revenge on a former partner, or a ''bizarre'' sequence of events, the Queenstown District Court heard yesterday.
Michael John Malone (53), consultant, of Hedgehope, Southland, denied charges of attempted arson, burglary and wilful trespassing at Dianne Austin-Wilson's home and an assault on Noel Gutzewitz in a Queenstown bar, all on July 3 last year.
The two-day hearing before Judge Mark Callaghan finished yesterday and the judge will give his finding tomorrow.
Ms Austin-Wilson told the court on Monday she had been in a relationship with Malone for 18 months, until June 2015 and believed he was responsible for vandalism of her property since then. She complained to police, who then installed a motion sensor camera at her home.
She was at a bar with Mr Gutzewitz on July 3 when he was allegedly assaulted by Malone.
Mr Gutzewitz gave evidence he said ''hello'' to Malone, who pushed him and he fell on the ground. He denied having earlier threatened the defendant.
Ms Austin-Wilson and Mr Gutzewitz went to her home after leaving the bar and noticed her oven was going ''full blast'', with a singed tea towel inside. Plant pots outside had been broken and a bottle of her whisky was found at the end of the driveway.
Yesterday, Malone agreed the person in the motion sensor camera photos taken at Ms Austin-Wilson's home on July 3 looked like him, but was not him.
Defence counsel Roger Eagles said Malone admitted pushing Mr Gutzewitz because he was being threatened.
No fingerprints or DNA evidence linked Malone to the oven incident and the identification of Malone in the photos was insufficient, he said.
Crown prosecutor John Young said the incidents were an attempt to extract revenge after a relationship breakdown.
