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Two men accused of a bizarre plan to ransom a dead man's stolen ashes smiled and shook hands when they met up in the dock at a pre-trial hearing.
Douglas Morris, 29, has been in custody on remand for several weeks, while William John Leathers, 47, has been on bail.
They are charged jointly with blackmail after allegedly trying to extort money from a Mt Maunganui woman whose house was burgled two-and-a-half months ago.
Among the property stolen was an urn containing her father's ashes.
The Rotorua men were further remanded for a depositions hearing in January when they appeared before Judge Michael Crosbie at Tauranga District Court on Monday.
Morris remains in custody and Leathers has had his bail continued.
The pair shared another hearty handshake before they went their separate ways.
Morris faces several charges in connection with the September 23 burglary, including stealing the woman's $63,000 Mercedes Benz. He allegedly loaded the urn, computer equipment and jewellery into the boot of the champagne-coloured 2006 model car.
A few days later the middle-aged woman started getting text messages demanding a ransom for the return of the urn and the car, police allege.
She was asked to meet a man at Papamoa and bring cash. But the offender apparently twigged to an undercover police sting and took off in an older-model car, later found dumped with the urn in the boot.
The Mercedes was also recovered.
Morris and two Katikati men were arrested about two weeks later after a high speed chase through the Bay of Plenty and Waikato.
All three face various charges in relation to that and a status hearing has been set for mid-January.
Leathers was arrested in late September after allegedly laying a false complaint with police that his car had been stolen.
- NZPA
