Accused calmly admitted murdering girlfriend, court told

Gordon Hieatt. Photo / Natalie Slade

A man accused of murdering his girlfriend showed no emotion when he opened the door to the apartment where her decomposing body lay and admitted to a police officer that he had killed her, a court has been told.

The body of 48-year-old Thai sex worker Nuttidar Vaikaew was found on May 12 last year in her Western Springs, Auckland, apartment, where it had been lying in a bed for up to 3-1/2 weeks.

Gordon Hieatt, a 48-year-old computer programmer, has pleaded not guilty in the High Court at Auckland to her murder, claiming instead that the killing amounted to manslaughter.

Police were contacted after Ms Vaikaew's landlord became concerned about her because he had not seen her for some time and a foul smell came from the apartment.

Two constables visited the apartment later that day to do a welfare check and, after knocking on the door several times, Hieatt answered and told them he had killed his girlfriend after an argument.

The constables placed Hieatt under arrest before one of the officers ventured into the dark apartment.

The first officer to see the body, Constable Kym Lam Sam, said that when he first entered he was struck by a terrible smell and saw dead flies scattered on the ground.

There were burned incense sticks in the room and a fan pointing at a bed where he saw the contours of a body under the covers with ``larvae'' on top.

He announced that he was a police officer and tapped the ankle-area with his flashlight before removing the covers from the face to reveal the dead body underneath.

Hieatt was calm, quiet and emotionless when he admitted to the killing, Mr Sam said.

The court also heard evidence from Ms Vaikaew's friend, Doungprun Darunwanphimol, who appeared with a Thai interpreter.

She describer Ms Vaikaew as a good person and a good friend.

She was a very confident person who would stand up for herself, and sometimes had a bad temper, she said.

She loved Hiaett very much and became upset when he went to Thailand to see another woman.

He went back to live with her after returning to New Zealand, she said.

The trial continues.

- NZPA