Detective dropped accused at victim's house, court told

Police dropped off the man accused of killing his partner, Te Miringa Tipene, at her Taumarunui home the night she died, the High Court at Hamilton was told yesterday.

Detective Constable Neil Foote said Nikora Allan Turner told him he would threaten to kill his "missus", and Ms Tipene said she knew he would kill her.

Turner, aged 32, denies murdering Ms Tipene, also known as Milly Dunn, between August 23 and 29 last year.

On the last night she was seen alive, August 23, the couple argued at a neighbour's party. Ms Tipene hid and Turner came looking for her with a baseball bat.

Detective Constable Foote arrested Turner for possession of an offensive weapon and threatening to kill a person at the party.

The policeman told the court yesterday that during an interview, Turner had said he threatened people at the party, but not to kill them.

"The only one I would say that to would be my missus."

Turner was released on bail and Detective Constable Foote dropped him off at Ms Tipene's house.

They found her intoxicated in a car outside and the detective woke her and helped her inside to a bed in the lounge.

He asked her if she had any problems with Nikora staying at the home but she said "everything was okay".

Ms Tipene also told him that "one day Nikora was going to kill her, but he was a good man and she loved him."

Turner came in and put his arm around her. She was holding his knee.

Detective Constable Foote advised them not to work out any problems until the morning when they were sober.

He then told a neighbour, Anthony Martin, known as Bandit, the president of the Mongrel Mob King Country chapter, to keep an eye on them.

Asked by Turner's lawyer, Sean Ellis, why he would put Bandit in charge, the policeman said Bandit had told him that Ms Tipene was in the car and he was telling him of the outcome.

"I didn't think he would take any instruction from me."

Detective Constable Foote said the last time he saw Ms Tipene she gave him a kiss on the cheek and a hug and said that 'everything was fine".

Six days later, he was the first officer on the scene after Ms Tipene's daughter found her body.

Detective Constable Foote said she was still on the same bed, wearing the same patterned woollen jumper but he could not identify her face, which had been badly beaten.

In the Crown's closing statement, prosecutor Ross Douch said Turner knew Ms Tipene and others were afraid that he would kill her but he chose to disregard it.

Mr Ellis said jurors must be satisfied that Turner caused the fatal injury, and if he did, that he knew it would kill her.

The trial before Justice Grant Hammond ends tomorrow.