Millie Elder-Holmes leaves the High Court in Auckland. Photo / Greg Bowker
Millie Elder-Holmes leaves the High Court in Auckland. Photo / Greg Bowker
Warning: contains strong language
Millie Elder-Holmes has taken the stand at the trial for the man charged with murdering her boyfriend Connor Morris, giving an emotional account of his final moments.
Michael Thrift Murray, 34, is accused of murdering Mr Morris by hitting him in the side of the head with a sickle-like tool during a street fight on Don Buck Rd on August 3 last year.
Wearing all black, Ms Elder-Holmes was supported in court by her mother Hine Elder and brother Reuben Holmes, Mr Morris's parents Chris and Julie and other family and friends.
"I saw Connor run up the driveway and I follow him everywhere so I ran after him," she said.
"If I picture the road there was a fight going on to my right, a fight in the middle, a dog running around biting people. There was a scuffle to my left... a fight in front of me that was quite close to me. Everything was so messy. There were people running everywhere," she said.
"I stood in the middle of the road, Connor was on my left on the footpath... having a scuffle... he was having a fight with someone. Then I saw Connor drop.
"The way that he fell, I knew something was really wrong. He didn't put his hands out or anything, he fell like he was unconscious, he hit his head quite hard on the ground."
Ms Elder-Holmes became teary and had to take a moment to collect herself before carrying on.
Mr Morris' parents were also visibly upset.
Connor Morris and Millie Elder-Holmes. Photo / Supplied via Facebook
"When I saw Connor drop, nothing else mattered. I just ran to him. He was my only concern, I wasn't looking around to see who hit him... or what anyone else was doing.
"They way he fell, I was so worried."
Ms Elder-Holmes ran to Mr Morris, who was unconscious. She did not know that his injury was fatal.
"I screamed, I ran to him and jumped on top of him. I had my knees on either side of his hips and I put my hands under his head. I just felt the blood rushing out of his head... I was trying to put my hands, to stop the bleeding but it was so strong.... It was pushing against my hands, I could feel (his pulse) throbbing.
Earlier in the night Ms Elder-Holmes and Mr Morris had been at his sister Cymmion's housewarming She explained Ms Morris had moved into the house about month ago and the party was a small get together for family and friends.
The party was "very chill" and throughout the night Ms Elder-Holmes took a number of short videos of herself and Mr Morris.
Michael Murray appears in the Auckland High Court accused of murdering Connor Morris. Photo / Jason Oxenham, NZ Herald
These were played to the jury, and were the last images of Mr Morris taken before his death. They show Mr Morris and other partygoers enjoying drinks, listening to music and chatting.
"Connor was teasing me the whole night... he would tap me on the side of my shoulder and pretend it wasn't him. We were just mucking around."
During cross examination Ms Elder-Holmes told the court that Mr Morris was a professionally trained kickboxer, a sport he had been participating in since he was a child.
She said she was confident in his ability to defend himself, and said he always fought fair. He was not the kind of person to kick anyone when they were down.
"Connor was very smart cos he had been trained... he was always a fair fighter, he would always fight with his fists - he believed in one-on-one fights.
She said her boyfriend was very strong, he went to the gym every day and his job was very labour intensive so he had a big, muscular build.
After she had given evidence Ms Elder-Holmes paused in the back of the courtroom to hug Chris and Julie Morris, who she is still close to.
She has now returned to the court room to watch the ongoing trial. She has not been able to do so this week so far, as witnesses are excluded from proceedings until they have finished giving evidence.
