KEY POINTS:
The crown says its case against Liam James Reid on murder, attempted murder, and rape charges is overwhelming, but the defence says jurors will find it "fragile and inconsistent".
Reid has gone on trial for the murder of deaf Christchurch woman Emma Agnew on November 15 last year, and the rape and attempted murder of a Dunedin student nine days later.
The joining of the charges Reid is alleged to have committed against the two women was previously suppressed.
Reid's defence counsel, David Bunce, today asked the jury to consider whether crown evidence would measure up to crown promises in its opening address.
He told Justice Lester Chisholm and the High Court in Christchurch jury that "prejudicial froth" made up the crown's case.
Rather than proving that Reid, 36, had committed the crimes alleged, the crown evidence was about whether he was the kind of person who might have committed these crimes.
He said the defence was that Reid was not the person who had committed the crimes.
He said phone records needed to be analysed carefully to see what they did prove, and he spoke of "the poverty of the quality of the forensic evidence on which the crown relies".
He said the phone records would show that Emma Agnew, whom Reid is accused of murdering, was driving alone to Spencerville on the day she died and was perfectly OK as she did so.
Earlier Crown prosecutor Pip Currie alleged Reid had asked the husband of former New Zealand Prime Minister Jenny Shipley to help with his getaway.
Mrs Currie said Burton Shipley will testify that he was approached by Reid on November 17, two days after Miss Agnew's murder, because he owned a yacht in Nelson.
Reid was seeking passage to Australia and indicated he would jump ship and swim when the yacht was approaching Australia.
Mrs Currie said Reid raped and murdered 20-year-old Miss Agnew by forcibly stuffing a sock into the back of her throat, preventing her from breathing.
Nine days after killing Miss Agnew, Mrs Currie said Reid violently raped and attempted to kill a Dunedin student who had been walking home after being out with friends.
The victim was also strangled at times with a rope and repeatedly punched and told that if she screamed she would be killed.
Mrs Currie said after the rape Reid straddled the student and used his hands to strangle her and left her for dead.
Reid later hitchhiked from Dunedin back to Christchurch and was picked up by a motorist, and during the trip made various crude comments about sexual matters and violence towards females, Mrs Currie said.
Reid later admitted to his partner that he had "killed the deaf girl" and also told her he had raped and tried to kill a girl in Dunedin.
The victim in Dunedin later identified Reid from a photo montage, and blood on Reid's shoes was identified as belonging to the victim.
The blood was at least 2000 million times more likely to be from the Dunedin victim than a random victim, Mrs Currie said.
Fingerprints taken from the exterior of Miss Agnew's car were identified as belonging to Reid.
A pubic hair found in Miss Agnew's car was also linked to Reid.
The trial before Justice Lester Chisholm and a jury has been set down for a month.
Over 100 witnesses will be called.
Sign language interpreters are in court for members of the deaf community present.
Miss Agnew's body was found near Spencer Park two days after Reid's alleged Dunedin rape and Reid was arrested in Christchurch the following day.
Reid denies all six charges.
- with NZPA
