Defence offers accident theory

Dean Stewart Cameron's defence has raised the possibility that Papanui teenager Marie Davis died by accident on the banks of the Waimakariri River.

The scenario was put to the jury in the High Court at Christchurch yesterday by defence counsel Frank Hogan in his opening statement.

Cameron, a 40-year-old road worker, denies raping and murdering the 15-year-old schoolgirl on April 6 last year.

Mr Hogan described the Crown case as essentially a theory on how Ms Davis died, but it was possibly not so straightforward.

He raised the question of whether the Crown would be able to prove beyond reasonable doubt that there had been a homicide, and whether Cameron had killed Ms Davis.

He listed factors for the jury to consider. He suggested Ms Davis voluntarily left her home before 8am, possibly affected by alcohol. She could have travelled with someone or a group to the Waimakariri area and there taken part in a sexual encounter on the riverbank either in darkness or daylight, and fully undressed.

Bedding found in the river could have been brought there by her or whoever travelled with her. It was possible that she walked to the river to wash and accidentally slipped.

The Crown earlier told jurors blood spots linked Cameron to the address where Ms Davis disappeared, and DNA evidence also linked him to her body found in the river.

- NZPA