Guilty plea in driveway stabbing

Olo Fiti. Photo / Supplied

When father-of-four Olo Fiti finished work for the week, he began drinking whisky and beer with friends, unwinding on what was an "unremarkable Friday".

Within hours, he was lying bloodied and dead on his driveway with seven stab wounds to his face, chest, arm and back, slain by a man who was angry that he had shown up at a gathering in his garage.

His attacker, 26-year-old Sam Simi, yesterday pleaded guilty to murder on the first day of his trial in the High Court at Auckland. He was remanded in custody for sentencing on July 16.

Before Simi's change of plea, prosecutor Kevin Glubb told the jury that Mr Fiti, 37, went with a friend to Simi's Otara home on March 27 last year.

He was drunk, walked in with a "yell" and began playing pool.

"His arrival is said to have sparked a degree of anger in the accused, who complained he did not want Mr Fiti at the house."

Simi went into the garage and turned the stereo up to maximum.

The court heard Mr Fiti complained the [pool] table wasn't level, which caused Simi to start smashing bottles inside and outside the garage.

Mr Fiti was told to leave and was driven to his Preston Rd home by friends Julie and Talavou Sale.

After he left, Simi took a blue-handled knife from the kitchen and followed him in his car.

Simi approached Mr Fiti at the driveway. Julie Sale told them to shake hands and when she pushed Simi away, he told her he first needed to "speak with that man".

She turned away and next saw Mr Fiti standing in the driveway, appearing unsteady on his feet, one arm out towards Simi, with blood clearly on his face and chin.

Simi ran to his car and left, while Mr Fiti staggered to the letterbox and then turned around to walk back to his house. Before he got there, he collapsed face down on to the grass.

He had been stabbed. The fatal thrust pierced his heart and cut the right aorta. Other blows cut into a kidney and sliced through both lips. He also suffered a back wound 7cm deep.

Simi stashed the knife between some old mattresses and tried to leave the country on a late-night flight to Samoa, but was arrested in the airport departure lounge.

Simi told police Mr Fiti had tried to hit him with a bottle. But Mr Glubb told the jury the stabbing was totally unnecessary. "Even if he did raise the bottle, he didn't stand a chance."