Joniero Iriving manslaughter trial: Prosecutors say James Jenkins drowned after ‘relentless pursuit’

Auckland resident Joniero Irving committed manslaughter through his “relentless pursuit” of another man near the Auckland Viaduct ferry terminal — chasing after and “tracking” him even after the man jumped into the water in an effort to escape.

That is what prosecutors told jurors today as Irving’s trial began in the High Court at Auckland.

James Harley David Jenkins, 24, is believed to have drowned in Waitematā Harbour on the morning of October 7, 2019, even though his body wouldn’t be found until days later.

Jenkins had spent a night on the town, including at Sky City Casino, before running into the defendant at a bar on Princes Wharf called Andrew Andrew, Crown prosecutor Rebecca Gibbs said during her opening statement. Shortly after the brief encounter, she said, CCTV footage shows Jenkins removing his watch and necklace and appearing to slip them into his partner’s purse.

As both men later left the bar, the pursuit began, she said.

“Mr Irving chased Mr Jenkins along the waterfront and they were moving at speed,” Gibbs said. “They came bolting down towards the water — Mr Jenkins in front, Mr Irving behind — and along beside the ferry piers that protrude out into the Waitematā Harbour.

“It’s at this point Mr Jenkins jumps into the harbour for the first time.”

Joniero Irving appears in the High Court at Auckland charged with manslaughter. Photo / Jason Oxenham

Irving followed Jenkins as he swam away, even trying to hide in an attempt to lure him out of the water, prosecutors said. The commotion caught the attention of ferry staff and security guards, but it didn’t dissuade the defendant from continuing the hunt, according to Gibbs.

Eventually Jenkins climbed onto one of the ferries, reaching out to the pier and handing the defendant the rings he had been wearing, prosecutors said. Ferry staff barred the other man from coming aboard the ferry.

But the defendant still didn’t give up the pursuit, Gibbs said, and Jenkins jumped into the water again. It was the last time he was seen alive.

“The ferry employees and security guards tried to assist Mr Jenkins but they were unsuccessful,” she said. “He disappeared beneath the water.”

Meanwhile, she alleged, other CCTV cameras showed Irving leaving the scene wearing the other man’s rings.

Much of the footage played for jurors today was blurry, having been filmed in the dark and often at a distance.

Jenkin’s cause of death was determined to have been drowning “with drug intoxication contributing to death but not related directly to the cause of it”, prosecutors said.

Defence lawyer Steven Lack declined to address jurors at the outset of the trial but he will have another opportunity to do so after the Crown finishes calling witnesses.

The trial, before Justice Timothy Brewer, is expected to continue for the next week and a half.