Father of two Jason McNae died from a fatal stab wound to the neck.
Father of two Jason McNae died from a fatal stab wound to the neck.
A 16 second encounter in a CCTV blind spot at a stabbing scene has become a pivotal moment for a jury which must now decide if the attack was self-defence or murder.
Lance Hall, 51, has been on trial for almost two weeks in the High Court at Whangārei accused of murdering Jason McNae on June 19 last year at a block of flats in Whangārei.
Today, closing statements were heard from the Crown and defence followed by Justice Grant Powell who summed up the case to the jury. They then retired this afternoon to consider its verdict.
In her closing, Crown prosecutor Bernadette O’Connor recalled what the multiple witnesses observed, how the Crown believed the CCTV showed Hall’s intention to murder McNae, and that his claim of self-defence was flawed.
The court heard that in the weeks leading up to the stabbing, Hall had been involved in several incidents at the block of flats.
One led to Hall being asked to leave the flat he was living in, leading to him moving into Cody Rudolph’s flat at the same complex.
Rudolph told the court that Hall went on to threaten to stab him, and to annoy other residents.
On June 19, 2023, the relationship worsened when Rudolph threw the building access card to Hall, who was in the carpark where other residents were drinking.
Hall said he could not find the card.
When Rudolph went to help, he was punched in the face by Hall.
“What I wanted, was Lance to be removed from my house,” Rudolph said in evidence.
The ex-partner of Rudolph, Courtney Rapata, gave evidence that Rudolph called her, seeking assistance to remove Hall from his flat.
Rapata said her new partner at the time, McNae, overheard her and Rudolph on the phone and said they needed to help him.
McNae drove to the flats with Rapata and her family members Boston Tahitahi and Kelly Rapata who all testified they had gone to help Rudolph and when they arrived, were met with an aggressive Hall on the driveway.
“He had punched Cody Rudolph, he had been intimidating other people, he had been strutting around like the big man and then he followed them into the stairwell,” O’Connor told the jury in her closing.
CCTV captured the group walking past Hall who followed them into the stairwell.
For 16 seconds, the group was in an area not captured by CCTV. Hall alleges in that moment he was assaulted by four people. But Rapata gave contrasting evidence.
Lance Hall on trial in the High Court at Whangārei. Photo / NZME
McNae was then seen on CCTV going back to the car where he collapsed while multiple people tried to assist.
‘It was a lethal wound’
In her closing, O’Connor alleged that after Hall stabbed McNae, Hall told Rapata “he’s going to die”.
She alleged Hall then approached Rapata with the scissors and asked: “Do you want to die today?” before yelling at McNae, who was dying in the car park, “F*** you, fat c***. I hope you die”.
“Pretty clear statements from what was intended,” O’Connor told the jury.
“He knew that stabbing someone in the neck was likely to kill them. An act that Lance Hall knew was fatal and did it intending to kill Mr McNae.
O’Connor submitted Hall’s story that he was assaulted in the stairwell did not stack up.
“Well ladies and gentlemen, you’ve seen the CCTV footage, I submit unequivocally that is simply not true.”
Crown prosecutor Bernadette O'Connor led the prosecution against Lance Hall. Photo / NZME
Touching on McNae’s heart issues, which the trial heard may have expedited his death, O’Connor said the medical problem was irrelevant.
“The only person responsible is the defendant. The stab wound was the reason McNae died.”
In closing submissions for the defence, Ron Mansfield focused on the actions of everyone at the scene, and stressed that there was no audio on the CCTV footage.
Mansfield said it was clear, Hall was not well-liked by the flats’ residents but submitted his client had no intention to kill someone he had never met before.
“The reality is, these two people didn’t know each other at all,” Mansfield said.
‘Hall was clearly their target’
Mansfield told the jury Rudolph had called looking for a Black Power member to come and “deal to Hall” and when the group arrived in the Suzuki Swift, they made a beeline for him.
“The guys headed straight to Mr Hall. They come from different sides and approach and confront Mr Hall.
“Hall was clearly their target as far as what they intended to do. They intended to cause harm to Hall which would weaken their case for justice.”
Mansfield said for those seconds that were not captured on CCTV, shadows of Hall and McNae could be seen at the bottom of the stairwell, which he believes was evidence Hall was being assaulted.
“You’ve got one entire group against Mr Hall. There is evidence in the CCTV and forensics that backs up that there was an assault in that hallway.”
Well-known Auckland defence lawyer Ron Mansfield QC has represented Lance Hall. Photo / NZME
Mansfield said McNae came at Hall on the stairwell and Hall acted in self-defence swinging out with the scissors towards the upper area of his body.
“You can infer he was going to wound but not so as to risk to take his life.”
Mansfield also said the CCTV had not captured the gang chants, slogans or gestures towards Hall from the many people present at the scene, and that his client was outnumbered.
“He might be an idiot, he might be nasty, he might be a bully, he might be unreliable but that does not make him someone that wanted someone he didn’t even know dead.”
The jury must also consider verdicts for one charge of assault on Rudolph and two charges of threats to kill Rapata and Rudolph.
Shannon Pitman is a Whangārei based reporter for Open Justice covering courts in the Te Tai Tokerau region. She is of Ngāpuhi/ Ngāti Pūkenga descent and has worked in digital media for the past five years. She joined NZME in 2023.
