Bain no 'homicidal maniac', says defence

David Bain. Pool photo

David Bain's defence team has said he would have had to have turned into a "homicidal maniac" for a brief time before reverting to normal if he was to have killed five of his family.

Summing up at Christchurch High Court this morning, Michael Reed, QC, said David's father Robin Bain was the killer, not the "friendly jovial 22 year-old with a new girlfriend and a dog".

He said that if the prosecution is right that Bain committed the murders, he would have to have turned into a killer somewhere around midnight on June 20, 1994, and then switch back the next day.

Mr Reed said the prosecution case, which was summed up yesterday, was the "don't knows case".

He said Crown Lawyer Kieran Raftery told the jury yesterday that there is "something in it for everyone" when it comes to forensic evidence.

"What an extraordinary phrase to use. What is it, a quiz game?" Mr Reed asked.

Setting out his case, Mr Reed said the evidence showed there was very little blood on Bain, which shows he did check on his family members but did not shoot them.

He also repeated evidence from a forensic scientist that showed a bruise on Robin Bain's hand was less than 12-hours old.

"It didn't happen after he was having fish and chips and doing
nothing," Mr Reed said, referring to the night before the murders.

He told the jury that they can draw an inference from the bruise to
suggest that Robin was involved in the murders and that it was the father who was involved in a fight with Stephen Bain.

He told the jury that there was "extensive blood on Robin's hands".

He said only one blood sample was tested and then destroyed by police
before the Privy Council appeal.

"If one of those samples on Robin turns out to be any of the children,
particularly Stephen, then the Crown has no explanation of how the
blood of Stephen got onto Robin," Mr Reed said.

Robin had suffered from depression for a long time, Mr Reed said, and the defence argues that he killed four members of the family before killing himself in their Dunedin home.

The defence summing up continues.