Brother 'wrong' on bedtime call, says Lundy

By PAULA OLIVER

Double murder accused Mark Lundy yesterday disputed the evidence of several prosecution witnesses - including his brother - during a two-hour appearance on the stand.

Lundy is accused of killing his 38-year-old wife, Christine, and 7-year-old daughter, Amber, with a tomahawk-like weapon on August 29, 2000. His trial is in its seventh week.

Under cross-examination, Lundy said his brother Craig had been wrong when he told the court earlier in the trial that Lundy usually called Amber to say goodnight when he was away on business.

Another witness who sometimes travelled with Lundy had also spoken of the calls.

Lundy was asked by Crown prosecutor Ben Vanderkolk why he did not make a call to Amber the night she was murdered.

He said making the calls was not a habit he had. Both witnesses had been wrong when they said he did, because his wife or daughter usually made the calls to him instead.

Lundy also disputed the evidence given by witnesses he visited on business the morning after the murders. One had said Lundy arrived at 9.40am, but Lundy said yesterday that it was more like 9am.

He could not explain exactly what he did during a 45-minute period the morning after the murders.

After checking out of his motel at 8am, Lundy said he had something to eat and bought some batteries for his razor. A call was made from his cellphone at 8.56am.

He was then asked what else he had done in that time.

"I'm not sure," Lundy said. "Maybe I did read my book during that time."

Lundy was also questioned about why he left the motel at 8am instead of his usual departure time of 9am. The motelier had said Lundy usually stayed around to chat before leaving at 9am.

In explanation, Lundy said he had woken up earlier and was ready to go, so he did.

Lundy also disputed the evidence given by a witness who spoke to him as he drove home to Palmerston North after learning that something was wrong at his home.

While driving at high speed, Lundy received the call from a business associate. The man gave evidence that Lundy said his "day had turned to hell", and that he had to go because something had happened to his wife and daughter.

Asked by Mr Vanderkolk how he could possibly have known that something had happened to them, Lundy said the witness was wrong - he had never actually said that.

"No. I said something had happened at my house," Lundy told the court.

Lundy was also questioned about what he did the night of the murders.

He said he read a book in his motel room before receiving a call from his daughter at 5.30pm.

Shortly after, he drove his car to the foreshore and read his book, sitting in the car. He could not say how long he was there.

When he returned to his motel a car was blocking the entrance so he had to park further away on the street, he said.

He then stayed in his room.

The next contact he had was when he retrieved a message on his cellphone left by a business associate.

Asked why he did not answer the phone when it rang, Lundy said he was in the toilet. Asked why it took 15 minutes for him to access the message, Lundy said he had picked up his book and read a few pages before remembering that the phone had rung.

The court also heard that Lundy had made up an alibi for the night of the murders because he did not want to tell people he had been with a prostitute.

Questioned by Mr Vanderkolk, Lundy said he had told several people he saw a man smoking a cigarette at the motel that night.

Asked why he had made up the story, Lundy said he had been asked by a customer about an alibi and he did not want to mention the prostitute.

Later in the day the defence called its final two witnesses, a private investigator and a pathologist.

Paul Bass, an investigator hired to see if it was possible for Lundy to drive to Palmerston North as quickly as the Crown says he did, spoke of three attempts he made at the journey.

Each took much longer than the time Lundy would have had to make the trip.

The fastest journey took 1 hour 56 minutes. The Crown says Lundy made a return journey to Palmerston North in three hours.

Pathologist Beth Synek later told the court that the brain tissue found on Lundy's shirt did not necessarily have to get there within 15 minutes of leaving a body.

Crown witnesses have told the trial that the tissue had to have been fresh when it was smeared on the shirt.

But Ms Synek said it was possible the tissue was older than that, and spoke of an experiment she had done with sheep brain tissue.

The trial will continue with Ms Synek under cross-examination today.