Angry family slams trial

A jury decided Alan Gundry had no choice but to shoot. Photo / Greg Bowker

The angry mother of Gene Atkins, shot point-blank with a pig-hunting rifle, has condemned his friend's murder acquittal.

"There is no justice," Libby Tebbs told the Herald on Sunday.

"The verdict was based on emotion and not fact how could anyone shoot someone twice and get away with it?"

A jury this week found Alan Gundry not guilty of murder and manslaughter after the 30-year-old Orewa painter said he fired two shots in self defence.

Atkins' family say they will write to the Ministry of Justice to complain that the trial was unfair. There is no legal provision for a victim's family to appeal the verdict.

Gene Atkins, a 28-year-old concrete layer, had got drunk and fought with his partner, Sarah Dean, before she fled to Gundry's house, the court heard. Atkins pursued her, where he punched another guest before confronting Gundry's partner on the stairs.

Gundry had known Atkins for years and knew how aggressive his friend could be, so he said he went to the garage and loaded his pig-hunting rifle with six rounds. The two old friends met in the garage foyer, where Gundry shot Atkins twice.

Yesterday, while Gundry was back with his family, Libby Tebbs said she was still grieving son Gene.

"I am gutted," she said. "I have lived and breathed this for nine months, and I will do for the rest of my life."

Libby had suffered nightmares ever since, said her husband Ross, and none of the family had received support as victims.

Atkins' girlfriend, Sarah, would never forgive his killer, he added. "She doesn't want to talk to him or know him ever. We feel the same way."

Ross Tebbs said it was sad that his stepson, Atkins, was not alive to defend himself.

The jury of five men and seven women unanimously found Gundry not guilty of murder, and rejected a manslaughter conviction by 11 to one.

"I believe the jury voted on emotion instead of fact," Ross Tebbs said. "The biggest thing is that Gundry went to get the gun.

"They have opened up the opportunity for anyone in a situation like Gundry to pull out a gun and shoot somebody and get away with it."

He acknowledged that Atkins and his partner of 18 months, Sarah, had previously had "a few blows", after which Sarah would threaten to leave; he also accepted Atkins had used cannabis.

"Gene saw Alan Gundry as his mentor," he said. "Every time he felt out of sorts he'd go and see Alan; Alan would calm him down."

That night, Tebbs said, everybody had been drinking.

"He loaded the gun with bullets...When [the first bullet] hit Gene it was like being hit in the stomach with a ton of concrete.

"We believe he would have fallen to the ground unconscious...

"Look, Gene had faults and we acknowledge he was out of line that night...but Gundry shot and killed a guy and walked out a free man."

- HERALD ON SUNDAY