Christchurch Mongols MC gang pad murder trial: Witness to fatal bashing warned, 'hear nothing, see nothing'

Christchurch man Kane Wayman, 46, died on January 1 last year. Photo / Supplied

A brutal fatal bashing at a Mongols MC gang pad only stopped when the three attackers got tired, according to a witness who became afraid for their own life when they tried to intervene and was warned they "hear nothing, see nothing", a court heard today.

Mongols gang prospect Mitchell Thomas McGregor Carston, 26, gang member Lyndon Paul Sheed, 43, and his daughter Elizabeth "Liz" Adora Sheed, 26, deny murdering Head Hunters associate Kane Wayman at a New Year's Eve party last year.

They say they had nothing to do with Wayman's death and will raise "serious questions" over his cause of death, the court heard.

A three-week trial started at the High Court in Christchurch last Monday, with the Crown alleging Wayman was punched, kicked, and stomped by Carston, Lyndon Sheed, and a third man known only as "curly-haired guy" who has never been identified, while his ex-girlfriend Liz Sheed egged his attackers on.

After some delays caused by illness last week, the trial resumed this morning, with a key Crown witness – one of Wayman's friends - giving evidence of what they saw that night.

Elizabeth Sheed, Lyndon Sheed and Mitchell Carston are standing trial at the High Court in Christchurch accused of murdering Kane Wayman on January 1, 2021. Photo / Kurt Bayer

Wayman, 46, brought the 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 that Wayman was "causing s***", that she wanted him dealt to, and wanted his Mercedes car.

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".

Police officers comb Mongols MC's Christchurch gang headquarters for evidence as part of the original homicide investigation. Photo / Kurt Bayer

Later in the night, the witness said that 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 trial earlier heard from the Crown how tension had earlier started 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.

It was clear that others were "getting angry with him", the Crown says, with Liz Sheed seeming "particularly angry".

It's alleged that Wayman's friend overheard Liz Sheed telling her father Lyndon that she wanted to kill Wayman, with him nodding in response.

Outside, 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 today.

The witness said Lyndon Sheed came out and "king hit" Wayman who fell straight to the ground.

Kane Wayman's Mercedes being towed from Christchurch Hospital on January 1, 2021. Photo / Kurt Bayer

It looked like he was knocked unconscious, the witness told the jury, and as soon as he fell to the ground, the unknown man, Lyndon Sheed, and Carston all started booting, stomping, and punching his head, face, back and chest.

"I could hear the gravel crunching," the witness said.

"In that moment they were just angry. They were just beating him.

"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 also claimed that Liz Sheed came out and stood over Wayman on the ground to tell him: "Don't you f*** with my family. I hope you f****** die."

And as they were beating him on the ground, Wayman's friend allegedly tried to stop the assault, saying, "Hey that's enough."

The assailants looked at them sideways and they "just froze", the court heard.

"I just shut my mouth and I had to stand back and just watch them carry on," the witness said.

"I was scared. I was unsure if I was going to leave there. Sometimes they don't want people to come and tell a story."

The attack only ended when the trio got tired, the witness said.

Afterwards, the witness claimed they heard Lyndon Sheed saying Wayman had "deserved" it.

By the time the assault stopped, Wayman was unconscious, the court heard.

It's not clear if Wayman was already dead but his friend drove him in his Mercedes to hospital.

As they were leaving the gang pad, the witness claimed that 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.

Under cross-examination from Lyndon Sheed's defence counsel Christopher Lange this afternoon, the witness admitted lying when later telling police they hadn't done drugs that night.

They had snorted a brown powder-like substance that Lyndon Sheed gave them, they claimed.

The witness, who met Wayman a few days earlier after being released from prison, serving a sentence for burglary, further admitted that claims during their evidence that they didn't know Wayman was taking them to a Mongols gang pad that night was also a lie.

Lange referred to Facebook messages sent earlier on New Year's Eve that stated they were headed to a "Mongols pad".

They also admitted having "a couple of cans" before being picked up by Wayman and taking an 18-pack of bourbon pre-mixers to the party.

Under questions from Crown prosecutor Mark Zarifeh, the witness said they were "slightly quite intoxicated" that night but "not to the point where I blacked out or didn't know what I was doing or falling over".

After taking Wayman to hospital, they were spoken to by police officers and gave them a "bullsh** story" about finding him on the side of the road.

They lied at first because they were scared and that they would "be next" but after hearing Wayman had passed away, decided to tell the truth because they thought, "f*** youse".

Lange put it to the witness that the stomping they described – "more than 10 stomps" by the three alleged attackers - never happened.

They took exception to Lange's assertion.

"I seen them stomping, kicking and punching him in the head. That's my friend," the witness said, calling it a "cowardly" assault.

During questioning from Carston's lawyer, Kerryn Beaton QC, the witness admitted smoking methamphetamine with Wayman in the days before he died.

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.

All three accused deny charges of murder.

Carston says he wasn't involved in any assault that night and that his legal team will bring expert medical evidence that raises "serious questions over how Wayman died".

Liz Sheed will say she was indoors when the fight broke out while Lyndon Sheed's lawyers said the jury needs to be sure that the Crown's key witness is truthful, that Sheed was involved, and that they must be clear about Wayman's cause of death.

The trial, before Justice Cameron Mander, continues.