Editorial: Trial may reveal Guy tragedy

It was a crime that stunned the nation.

Feilding farmer Scott Guy, 31, was gunned down in the driveway of his home in the early hours of July 8, 2010, as he set out to do the milking.

His death came as a shock, not only to his family, but to the whole country.

It seemed so unfathomable. Why would anyone want to callously gun down a good-looking and - by all accounts - decent farmer, who clearly was a devoted father and husband. There was also something sinister about the crime being carried out in the early hours of the morning in a lonely rural area.

The thing about the Guy family is that they came across as a normal loving family - good old Kiwi farming stock. Every middle-class farming family in the country could identify with them and this is what made the crime too close for comfort.

As the nation's focus intensified, all sorts of rumours and innuendoes starting circulating, which must have caused the family no end of grief. The parents of Mr Guy's wife, Kylee, live in Hawke's Bay and she has moved back here with her sons Hunter and Drover since the tragedy.

From there the story only got worse. Who can ever forget the dramatic television footage of a very pregnant and clearly distraught Mrs Guy clutching her child and appealing for the killer to come forward.

The shock for the family and nation continued when after nine months of intensive investigation the police charged Mr Guy's brother-in-law, Ewen Kerry Macdonald, 32, with his murder.

Now, nearly two years after the crime was committed, the case finally goes to trial at the High Court in Wellington. It was originally set down for Palmerston North, but was moved to Wellington because of fears of jury impartiality.

The trial is set down for six weeks and hopefully it will provide some answers. The family deserves some answers. Even if the verdict is not guilty, hopefully there will be enough evidence produced in court to point police in the direction of the killer.

It will be tough for all involved because a lot of family laundry is likely to be aired. The nation will be captivated, but it is the sort of national exposure and attention you hope your own family never falls prey to.

All one can hope for is that questions are answered and that the victims in this tragedy - not just Mr Guy, but his sons and other family members - are allowed to keep their dignity in what could be an ugly process.

Let justice be served.