Friend tells jury: I forgot about Ben and Olivia

By Alison Horwood

WELLINGTON - A friend of Olivia Hope and Ben Smart told yesterday how he forgot to return to the yacht Tamarack in his boat to shuttle his friends to shore.

Olivia and Ben eventually realised Marko Doblanovic was not coming to pick them up and caught a water taxi.

The Crown alleges Scott Watson was a passenger in the water taxi and offered Olivia and Ben a bed on his yacht, Blade.

Watson denies killing the friends, and his High Court trial in Wellington will enter its fifth week on Monday.

Mr Doblanovic, a Christchurch student, told the jury yesterday that some time after 2 am he left the Furneaux Lodge party and went to the jetty, where he had tied up his uncle's powerboat.

He ferried his friends to a bach they were staying in at Punga Cove, on the other side of Endeavour Inlet, making two trips because they could not all fit in.

"I pulled in front of the jetty and everyone climbed in till it was full enough," he said. "I remember Ben and Olivia sitting on the front of the boat."

He dropped Olivia and Ben off at the Tamarack and took the remaining passengers on to Punga. One of those on board was Danny Campbell, who asked Mr Doblanovic to return to the Tamarack to pick up his friend, Kirsty Sutherland, and bring her to Punga.

Mr Doblanovic did not return to Tamarack but made a second trip between Furneaux and Punga.

Asked by crown prosecutor Kieran Raftery what he did with his boat when he finally arrived at Punga, he said he "parked it up."

He used it again about 5.30 am to take a woman called Suzie back to a bach near The Pines.

When asked by presiding judge Justice Heron what Suzie's surname was, he said he did not know.

Justice Heron: And did she come across to Punga Cove at your invitation or someone else's?

Mr Doblanovic: Mine.

Justice Heron: When you had the conversation with Danny about picking up Kirsty, where did he expect you to pick her up from.

Mr Doblanovic: The Tamarack.

Justice Heron: So what did you do about Danny's request?

Mr Doblanovic: I forgot about it.

Miss Sutherland told the court on Thursday that she, Olivia and Ben went to the Tamarack to get their gear, and intended to stay the night at Punga.

They waited 45 minutes for Mr Doblanovic, but eventually gave up. When Olivia and Ben discovered there were no berths on Tamarack, they took the next water taxi ride to shore.

Paul Lyndon McKay, who used to flat in Christchurch with Ben, said he was sleeping in the main cabin of the Tamarack when a commotion woke him up about 3 am.

Olivia and a few others on board were arguing. She was complaining about the lack of places to sleep and the number of "non-paying people" on board.

Mr McKay said Olivia tried to "confiscate" the bed he was sharing with his girlfriend, Anna Scherp. He told Olivia that they got there first and were paying for the berth.

Olivia was in the cabin for about 20 minutes, he said. Ben was also there but was not part of the argument. When asked about Ben's state, he said he was "more intoxicated than he usually gets."

Olivia searched for her sleeping bag, but when she could not find it she took one belonging to Hamish McLauchlan.

Jessica Rutherford, one of the extras on the Tamarack, told the court she was using Olivia's sleeping bag on deck.

She heard Olivia asking where it was. "I pretended I was sleeping so I didn't have to give it to her."

Daniel Ross was on the deck of the Tamarack when the water taxi pulled up.

He heard Olivia asking the driver to drop them at Punga Cove, but could not hear the driver reply.

"I think Ben was pretty keen on going to Punga Cove because that's where all his friends were," he said.