Accused 'delusional' when he killed neighbour

File photo / Bay of Plenty Times

A man was "delusional" at the time he killed his 84-year-old neighbour, a court was told today.

Wayne John Reid, 57, has pleaded not guilty in the High Court at Auckland to murdering Beryl Campbell at her Henderson, west Auckland, unit on February 21, 2008, on the grounds of insanity.

His sister, Rhonda Speer, told the court today that Reid arrived at her home the day after the killing said he had done "a terrible thing."

He was delirious, having spent the night in the Kepa Road Bush Reserve, east of downtown Auckland, trying to shelter under trees, she said.

"He had been out in the rain all night - it was a hell of a night - and I thought he was on the verge of hypothermia. He was soaked through and, to put it mildly, he looked like a tramp."

Reid told her he had climbed over Ms Campbell's back fence, went into her lounge and accused her of spying on him.

Mrs Campbell "looked amazed" when she heard this and they got into an argument.

He told his sister he thought he might have killed her after he shook her and she collapsed.

Mrs Speer said that he told her he returned to Mrs Campbell's house later that day with rubber gloves and a cloth to wipe items he may have left finger prints on.

Crown prosecutor Gareth Kayes said on Monday that Reid sat Mrs Campbell upright on the couch to make it look like she had died of natural causes.

As there was no suspicion of a homicide, Mrs Campbell's home was cleaned by her daughters and her funeral arranged.

It was not until police were notified of the killing by Reid's son that an autopsy was done, which revealed she died due to compression of the neck.

Reid attempted to kill himself before his arrest and was in an induced coma for about two days.

Ms Speer said after Christmas 2007 he started losing weight and was becoming paranoid and having delusional thoughts.

Two weeks before the killing, he told her people from his work were spying on him, as were his neighbours.

He thought his house was "under threat" and that a white van was going to come and take his possessions away, so he gave her some of his most prized belongings to look after.

"I just knew just by the conversation we'd had that he wasn't well, he was delusional - the types of things he was saying, talking about spies and that. He was not in the right frame of mind and he needed help.

"I think he thought that he would come right. He'd never even take a Panadol if he needed it; he's just that sort of person. He wouldn't go to the doctor unless he was dying," she said.

The trial continues.

- NZPA