Boyfriend worried about Amber-Rose Rush on night of death, court told

Amber-Rose Rush of Dunedin was killed in February 2018. Photo / Facebook

The boyfriend of a Dunedin teen, who was allegedly murdered by a doctor, went around to her home the night of her death because he was worried about her.

Amber-Rose Rush, 16, was found by her mother stabbed to death in her bed several hours later on February 3 last year.

The man accused of killing her is junior doctor Venod Skantha, 32, who the Crown says killed the teenager to preserve his medical career.

Skantha is appearing at the High Court in Dunedin. He has pleaded not guilty to murder and also denies four counts of threatening to kill.

Dr Venod Skantha is on trial for the murder of Amber-Rose Rush. Photo / Otago Daily Times

Amber-Rose accused him of indecently assaulting her and hours before her death had threatened to go to both the defendant's superiors at Dunedin Hospital and the police with her allegations.

Her boyfriend at the time Kristin Clark had been speaking to the victim on the night of her death and told the court this afternoon he had been worried about her.

Amber-Rose had sent him screenshots of her exchange with Skantha and the witness said he was concerned she would go and confront the man.

At 11.53pm, Clark sent her: "I'm willing to do anything for you. I can pick you up."

He followed it up with further messages indicating his worry and when he received no response, he left his Dunedin North home to see her.

Clark told the court he went to Amber-Rose's window and knocked on it in the early hours of February 3.

There was no response.

Amber-Rose Rush of Dunedin. Photo / Facebook

When Amber-Rose's brother Jayden Rush arrived home from work with his partner, Clark retreated to his car and left the address after sending his girlfriend another message.

Accused described as 'like a dad'

Earlier, the court heard Amber-Rose told her older sister Chantelle Rush she was planning to move in with Skantha.

Ms Rush initially claimed to be "jealous" of the offer but then questioned the defendant's intentions.

"That's weird. Why does he want teenagers to move in?" she asked.

"WTF that's creepy as hahaha."

Amber-Rose did not echo those concerns.

"We'll be living with a rich doctor YOLO," she wrote.

She described Skantha as "like a dad".

Ms Rush suggested to her younger sister it might be a case of sexual grooming and when the girl expressed confusion, she told her to google it.

Later in their online exchange, Amber-Rose said she had Skantha's credit card and had made an online purchase with it.

"Just a few dollars. He won't even notice," she said.

In any case, the victim told her sister, she was going to Skantha's house with her mother the next day and they were going to get some money out of him - "or I'm going to the cops".

She did not explain the circumstances.

Skantha did notice the payments made by his credit card, which sparked a terse online conversation with Amber-Rose later on February 2, 2018.

The Crown says, during that exchange, the girl threatened to expose the doctor as a sex abuser and someone who bought alcohol for his underage friends.

It would likely end his medical career which was already in tatters, prosecutor Richard Smith told the jury yesterday, and potentially result in criminal charges.

Skantha was on a final warning with the hospital after problems with his behaviour in 2017.

He had only dodged dismissal by lying to bosses that his mother was dead, the court heard.

After speaking to Skantha on the night of her death Amber-Rose messaged her sister: "I'm so angry".

Ms Rush only saw it when she woke up the following day.

She replied: "why?"

By that time, Amber-Rose was found in her blood-soaked bed.

Defence counsel Jonathan Eaton QC said there was no dispute the victim was killed by an intruder but it was not Skantha.

The trial continues.