Christchurch man Kane Wayman, 46, died on January 1 last year. Photo / Supplied
Christchurch man Kane Wayman, 46, died on January 1 last year. Photo / Supplied
A Mongols MC gang member has been found guilty of manslaughter, while his daughter and a gang prospect have been acquitted, after the death of a Head Hunters associate at a New Year's Eve party.
A jury took nearly eight hours to find senior Mongols figure Lyndon Paul Sheed, 43, not guilty of murdering Kane Wayman in the early hours of January 1 last year but guilty of manslaughter after a two-week trial at the High Court in Christchurch.
Mitchell Thomas McGregor Carston, 26, and Elizabeth "Liz" Adora Sheed, 26, were found not guilty by the jury, who returned from their deliberations just after 8pm last night.
Defence lawyers picked holes in the account of a key Crown witness – who has name suppression - telling the jury the testimony had been unreliable and littered with inconsistencies and lies.
Elizabeth Sheed, Lyndon Sheed and Mitchell Carston during their trial in the High Court at Christchurch. Photo / Kurt Bayer
The witness told of seeing Wayman, who the court heard had been drunk and "acting out" while disrespecting the Mongols and speaking about other local gangs, being assaulted in the early hours of New Year's Day last year.
They claimed Wayman was punched, kicked and stomped by Lyndon Sheed, Carston and a third man known only as a "curly-haired guy" who has never been identified, while Wayman's ex-lover Liz Sheed egged his attackers on. The three accused all denied being involved at all.
DNA samples taken from Wayman's bloodied T-shirt would later match Lyndon Sheed and two "unknown individuals".
Lyndon Sheed's lawyer Christopher Lange told the jury the key Crown witness should not be believed, especially casting doubt on their story about how Wayman was allegedly struck to the ground with a "king hit" by his client.
Carston's lawyers said there was no doubt Wayman had been assaulted. But they warned the jury that it was not their job to work out what happened that day.
They only needed to judge whether the Crown had proved, beyond reasonable doubt, that Carston – and the Sheeds – were part of any assault, or had been party to any assault, and if they found they had, whether it had been a substantial operative cause of Wayman's death.
Police at the Mongol motorcycle gang headquarters near Burnham, Christchurch, in connection with the death of gang member Kane Wayman on January 1, 2021. Photo / Kurt Bayer
If they weren't sure, then not guilty pleas must follow, the lawyers argued.
Justice Cameron Mander thanked the jury for their service.
Lyndon Sheed will be sentenced at a later date.
The trial heard how Wayman had brought a friend along to the New Year's Eve party where they had been having a good time, with loud music, drinking, dancing, playing pool, a spa bath and fireworks.
Wayman had been in "some kind of relationship" with Liz Sheed late in 2020 and was in love with her, the court heard earlier.
However, she had broken it off, and a few weeks before the party had allegedly messaged multiple people to say Wayman was "causing s***", that she wanted him dealt to, and wanted his Mercedes car.
Kane Wayman's Mercedes being towed from Christchurch Hospital on January 1, 2021. Photo / Kurt Bayer
The witness, who has name suppression, found the Mongols gang members to have been well-mannered and a "decent set of guys" during the night.
But they told the jury how Wayman was getting "drunker and drunker" as the evening progressed, and told him to "stop being a dick".
Tension was starting to build, with Wayman in a bad mood and "acting out".
After drinking and reportedly taking drugs, he began disrespecting the Mongols and referring to other local gangs.
Later in the night, the Crown's key witness said they heard male voices shouting outside and ventured out to see a "curly-haired guy" following Wayman and saying he had been "a f****** nuisance all night".
The "curly-haired guy" started throwing punches at Wayman, who was trying to defend himself and soon started to bleed from his nose, the witness said.
The witness said Lyndon Sheed came out and "king hit" Wayman, who fell straight to the ground.
"Giving someone a hiding is something different to that ... I've never seen that s*** in my whole entire life. The aggressiveness was just something else. It was pure hate," the witness said.
Afterwards, the witness claimed they heard Lyndon Sheed saying Wayman had "deserved" it.
As they were leaving the gang pad, the witness claimed the attackers told them to drive Wayman's body off a cliff and was warned, "Hear nothing, see nothing".
Wayman got to hospital but at 9.02am on New Year's Day last year, was pronounced dead.
A post-mortem found Wayman's cause of death was blunt force head and neck injuries on the background of an enlarged heart from methamphetamine use, the court heard.
