Stab to the heart caused Northlander's death, pathologist found

Logan Myro Haddon-Hardy is accused of inflicting two knife wounds that caused the death of Hamuera Wilson. Photo / Imran Ali

A knife used to allegedly stab a young Northlander penetrated nearly 14cm from his chest, through two heart chambers, and stopped on his left lung, causing his death, a forensic pathologist has told a jury.

Dr Simon Stables said it was very rare for someone who'd been stabbed in the heart to survive unless the patient was wheeled into an operation theatre "within minutes" of being injured.

He yesterday gave evidence for the Crown in the High Court at Whangārei where Logan Myro Haddon-Hardy is on trial for the alleged murder of 23-year-old Hamuera Wilson on Otaika Rd.

It's alleged Haddon-Hardy stabbed Wilson twice in the chest using a knife which he later hid in a drain pipe but was recovered by police.

Wilson sought help from a couple staying at the Otaika Accommodation Park in the early hours of October 21, 2018 and despite the efforts of police and St John paramedics, he died at the scene.

Stables performed an autopsy on Wilson in Auckland a day after his death and concluded the cause of death as a stab wound to the chest.

The knife used to inflict the fatal wound, he said, went through Wilson's heart sac and into the heart and caused quite substantial loss of blood.

Forensic pathologist Dr Simon Stables performed an autopsy on Hamuera Wilson and found a stab wound to his chest was the cause of death. Photo / NZME

Other findings from the autopsy included an abrasion on the right hip, bruise on the right ankle, and injuries on Wilson's nose, forearm and neck which were not related to his death, he said.

He could not say in what order the wounds were inflicted.

The toxicology report showed alcohol, methamphetamine and cannabis were present in his blood.

Asked by Crown prosecutor Richard Annandale whether it was possible for someone to travel some distance after being stabbed in the chest, Stables said it was "entirely possible".

He agreed with defence lawyer Susan Gray that a person with four to five times over the legal alcohol limit in his blood could stagger, stumble, and make risky judgments.

The trial before Justice Rebecca Edwards continues.