Corey Norman Milne has appeared at Invercargill District Court on grievous bodily harm charges. Photo / ODT
A man who stomped on an unconscious man leading him to be intubated, was yesterday found guilty of wounding with intent to cause grievous bodily harm.
Corey Norman Milne, 41, pleaded not guilty to the charge on Monday but admitted an alternative lesser charge of wounding with intent to injure.
He was also found not guilty of assault with intent to injure which he had also pled not guilty to.
Milne's jury trial before Judge Duncan Harvey at the Invercargill District Court began on Monday.
During Milne's police interview, played in court yesterday, Detective Sergeant Brian McKinney showed photographs taken of Trent Soper's injuries after the February 5 incident, and told Milne when ambulance staff picked him up, he was triaged as a status one patient — status zero being dead. He needed to be intubated as a result of his injuries.
Milne seemed surprised at the extent of Mr Soper's injuries and said the two punches he inflicted on Soper would not have caused them.
He said it may have been one of the other people at the party who caused them or someone may have done it to him after he was taken away from the house.
During the video he admitted he was wearing Red Band gumboots on the night of the party and said that blood found on them was probably from deer stalking or from a sheep he had killed about a week before.
Jurors were presented with DNA evidence on Monday which said blood samples taken from one of the gumboots was 600 thousand million more times likely to be that of the victim's than any other random person.
On Monday, Milne's lawyer Roger Eagles asked two witnesses if Milne was wearing Red Band jandals on the night rather than the gumboots. While one witness said he may have been, she and another witness said whenever they saw Milne, he was always wearing his gumboots.
Milne's partner Ebony Cooper, who gave birth last week, could not recall what footwear Milne wore at the party when she gave evidence yesterday. She said parts of her police statement were incorrect saying she and another woman had their statements taken at the same time.
In closing yesterday Crown lawyer Mike Brownlie said the Crown's case was that the blood on Milne's gumboots was there as a result of him stomping on Soper's head.
"The Crown says those initial punches were enough to put Mr Soper on the ground in a vulnerable state."
Soper was defenceless and his body was all jelly when Milne continued to attack him, he said.
Bruises to Soper's chest were consistent with evidence presented that Milne had kicked him between the chest and the face after he had been dragged outside the garage.
It was the Crown's case that the assaults which happened after Soper was unconscious, were proof of Milne's intent to injure.
In his closing Eagles said that Milne became angry after he found out Soper had woken up his pregnant partner.
"In a way you could say that Corey's reactions were chivalrous," Eagles said.
It would have been more surprising to have not found blood on Milne's boots as there was blood in different places inside the garage and around the property, he said.
While Milne admitted he had injured Soper, the jury had to be sure of his intent to cause grievous bodily harm to find him guilty of the charge.
The jury began its deliberations about 3.35pm yesterday and returned its verdict about 4.50pm.
Milne was remanded in custody to appear for sentence on October 13.
OPINION: New Zealander reflects on delivering speech at St James' Palace.