David Bain's retrial for the murder of five of his family in Dunedin in 1994 continues in Christchurch today. Hit refresh throughout the day for the latest updates. Or you can follow us on Twitter
5.05pm Sergeant Murray Stapp has been questioned on the time he arrived at the Bain household on the morning of June 20, 1994.
Under cross-examination from Bain's lawyer Helen Cull, QC, Mr Stapp said there was a typo mistake in his brief of evidence which said he entered the house at 7.20am.
Mr Stapp maintains he arrived at the house at 7.28 and it took him about three minutes to ask for cordons to be set up, send for more firearms and smash a door panel to open the lock on the front door.
He said he and other police officers were inside the house by about 7.31am.
The cross-examination of Mr Stapp will continue tomorrow when court begins at the earlier time of 9.45am
4.32pm Mr Stapp said he had a look at the body of Robin Bain and saw the bullet wound to the side of Robin Bain's head, the firearm and a spare magazine.
He said two officers who were at the end of their shift were changed over.
Mr Stapp said he "wasn't happy" about the change over because it meant two more people at the scene.
4.28pm Mr Stapp also described calling the dog out of Margaret's room and putting it on a leash on the outside veranda.
He said although he "wasn't happy", after having a discussion with other police officers, an ambulance officer was allowed into the house to check the dead Bain family members for signs of life.
4.25pm Mr Stapp said he saw the body of another young woman in bed.
"There was a lot of blood in the area of the side of her head. She was quite clearly dead," he said.
He said he then retreated into the hallway and had another look at the body of Margaret Bain before looking at the room of Stephen Bain.
Mr Stapp said Stephen was obviously dead, although he couldn't see his face.
He said there was a lot of blood in the room and it was untidy.
Mr Stapp went back into the room where David Bain was.
He said Bain was in the fetal position and lying still but then Bain had a seizure or fit.
Mr Stapp said his body was jerking.
"Not overly so, he wasn't all over the place like you see on television," Mr Stapp said.
Bain then fainted and Mr Stapp called for ambulance officers to be allowed into the house to attend to Bain.
4.12pm Mr Stapp described how he found the body of Arawa Bain after parting a bead and chain curtain with his gun or a torch.
"I could see blood on her head and the blood in the photograph. She was quite clearly dead," Mr Stapp said.
Earlier he told the court how a police officer had told him that there should be six people in the house, including David Bain but the police had only found four bodies.
He said it was then he decided to "start again". It was then police found the body of Arawa.
4.06pm Mr Stapp has described how he and Constable Wyllie searched the downstairs of the Bain house.
He said he and Mr Wyllie checked the kitchen, a hallway, outside the backdoor, and then the bathroom and toilet area.
Mr Stapp was asked about noises and smells.
He said he could not hear a washing machine. He described smelling a "stale cooking" smell in the kitchen and the house as "unkempt".
"I had no idea what I was dealing with. No idea if anyone there was a threat to me or the accused as he is now," Mr Stapp said.
He said his sense of smell and hearing was "acutely heightened" because of a potential threat to his safety being in the house.
"Your vision often tunnels somewhat but it is heightened as well," Mr Stapp said.
3.39pm Mr Stapp said he had found the body of Margaret Bain. He called out to Constable Wyllie before the two continued to search the house.
The pair carried on down the hallway until they came to a room at the end where a door was slightly ajar.
"I stepped in and then to the left of the door. I recall looking for a light switch."
He said he "covered the room" while Mr Wyllie stepped past him and shone his torch around the room.
Mr Stapp described the room as containing book shelves and ornaments.
It did not contain a body.
Justice Panckhurst asked if it was a storage room.
"It was more of an over-cluttered lounge, Sir," Mr Stapp replied.
Court has adjourned for 15 minutes.
3.31pm Mr Stapp has described to the court how he used his revolver to part a bead curtain and saw a body of a woman on a bed.
He said there was a dog on the side of the bed.
Mr Stapp said the dog barked at him and he spoke to the dog to try and calm it down.
Earlier, Mr Stapp described how a Constable with him had seen another body.
3.25pm Sergeant Stapp has told the court how he picked up a piece of wood to break a side panel of the Bain family front door to get into the house on Every St.
Earlier he described how one Constable could see part of a body and a firearm one of the rooms.
He said Constable Geoffrey Wyllie had previously been speaking to David Bain through a window but could not convince him to open the front door.
Once inside the house, Mr Stapp went into David Bain's room where he found Bain in the fetal position.
"I ran up to him, I had my revolver in the extended position, he was crying: They are all dead, they are all dead - or words to that effect," Mr Stapp said.
3.16pm Sergeant Murray Stapp has told the court how he took a revolver from the floor safe of his police car before "walking quickly" into the Bain household.
Mr Stapp is a Sergeant now based in Hamilton and was one of the first policeman on the scene on the morning of the Bain murders.
He said he asked other policemen to block off Every St at both ends before entering the house.
3.00pm Peter Robinson was the detective chief inspector in charge of the Dunedin CIB at the time of the Bain family murders.
He transported evidence to Melbourne to have it further tested.
The evidence had been examined by the ESR.
Mr Robinson confirmed to Bain's lawyer, Michael Reed, that he had not taken the blood smear or finger nail scrapings from Robin Bain to Melbourne.
When asked if he should have taken the evidence found on the body of Robin Bain, Mr Robinson said "on hindsight, yes".
Under re-examination by Crown prosecutor Kieran Raftery, Mr Robinson said if ESR scientist Peter Hentschel had asked him to take the blood smear and nail scrapings from Robin Bain, then he would have.
2.54pm: A former neighbour of the Bain family Billee Marsh, the wife of Wayne, has described Margaret Bain as "flakey".
She said Margaret once told her how she had gone to bed for six weeks.
"The family just had to make do around her," Mrs Marsh said.
She said she had mostly "chit-chat" conversations with Margaret.
"If you had a conversation with Margaret, she did all the talking," Mrs Marsh said.
Mrs Marsh described Robin Bain as a "lovely person, gentle, polite, a calm man and very reasonable".
She also described David Bain as "cheery" and often called hello over the fence to him.
However, Mrs Marsh told the court the last time she called out to Bain, while he was working in the garden with his mother, he did not reply.
Under cross-examination by Bain's lawyer Michael Reed, QC, Mrs Marsh said she had not heard anything around the neighbourhood of an incestuous relationship between Robin Bain and his daughter, Laniet.
Mrs Marshall's daughter Geraldine had her evidence read to the court.
She was at intermediate school when the murders occurred.
She described being woken by the Bain's dog on the morning of the murders at about 7am.
1.16pm: Under cross-examination, the Bain's former neighbour, Wayne Marsh, confirmed that he thought it was David and Stephen Bain who were shooting possums on his boundary.
Bain's lawyer Michael Reed asked Mr Marsh: "All you saw were lights in the trees and the gun going off?"
Mr Marsh replied that he was aware of the Bain family members' voices.
Mr Marsh also confirmed that his wife had been bitten by a dog belonging to David Bain that was eventually put down.
He told the court the dog had also bitten a postman.
Mr Marsh said he had a conversation with Margaret Bain about a dog being moved to the other side of the Bain property after it had had puppies.
He described it as a "friendly conversation" but said he "just couldn't get his point of view across".
Under re-examination by crown prosecutor Kieran Raftery, Mr Marsh said David's dog was probably put down months, rather than weeks, before the murders.
Mr Marsh's wife, Billie Marsh, has taken the stand and court has adjourned for lunch.
1.10pm: A former neighbour of the Bain family has taken the stand.
Wayne Eric Marsh told the jury that he had several conversations with Robin Bain over the years that he lived next door.
One of them included a complaint about some spouting, another included a complaint about possum shooting on the boundary.
He described Robin Bain as a "serious, sincere sort of man".
Mr Marsh said he was aware that Robin Bain was not living at home and on both occasions, he had to call Robin Bain at the school where he worked.
He said he complained to Mr Bain about possum shooting and although he could not be sure who it was doing the shooting, he thought it was David and Stephen.
Mr Marsh said one of his daughters had a bedroom on that side of the house.
He told the court he also complained about the spouting on the Bain family home.
Mr Marsh said it was not fixed and he had to make a complaint to the council because rain was running onto his property and eroding a bank.
Mr Marsh said on the weekend leading up to the murders he saw Stephen, Robin and David Bain on a ladder up against the house inspecting the gutters.
He had thought about going over to help but was dissuaded by his wife.
"We were not such favourable neighbours," Mr Marsh said.
He told the court there was not a lot of communication between the three Bain men.
Mr Marsh said one of the Bain daughters, Arawa, baby-sat his children and appreciated the pocket money.
He said he did not hear any noise from next door on the morning of the shootings.
12.25pm: Mr Doyle has been re-examined by Crown prosecutor Kieran Raftery.
Mr Doyle told the court that had he known Bain's defence lawyers wanted exhibits kept, he would not have ordered them to be destroyed.
He also said that, in his experience, ESR only returns evidence when it cannot carry out further testing.
Both statements related to lines of questioning from Bain's defence lawyers who cross-examined Mr Doyle yesterday afternoon and this morning.
Mr Doyle has now left the stand.
12.11pm: A former police officer has said he did not make follow-up inquiries about allegations that Robin Bain was having an incestuous affair with his daughter Laniet.
Mr Reed asked: "You really didn't follow up allegations at all, did you?"
"No I didn't," replied Mr Doyle.
Earlier, the jury was shown a photograph of the van that Robin Bain had been living in for nearly three years, which only contained one sleeping area and a cushion.
Mr Reed said the van was originally parked in the school grounds but Robin Bain was asked to move the van.
Mr Bain then lived down the road from the school for about two years.
The court also heard that witnesses had described Robin Bain as looking "cadaverous, white and gaunt, he seemed depressed" and "haggard, grey and depressed, much older than his age".
Mr Reed asked if these descriptions had been followed up.
Mr Doyle answered that if there was no job sheet or statement, then they were not followed up by police investigating in 1994.
11.44am: Mr Reed has clashed with the Crown prosecutor and judge again over what an optometry expert said at Bain's first trial and in depositions.
A lens found in Stephen's room that matches a frame and another lens found in David's room has formed part of the Crown's prosecution case.
Mr Reed put it to Mr Doyle that the glasses were not David's and the police knew that during the first trial but let the jury hear evidence to the effect that they were his.
Crown prosecutor Kieran Raftery said Mr Doyle was not in charge of the handling of the trial.
Justice Panckhurst told Mr Reed to be "accurate" in his questioning.
It appears a member of the defence is currently looking at court transcripts.
Later Justice Panckhurst said Mr Reed had made an "overstatement" when referring to evidence given by the optometrist, who Mr Reed said had given evidence suggesting the glasses belonged to Margaret Bain.
Mr Reed then made an objection.
"Mr Raftery seems to be adopting the tactic of objecting every two or three seconds, that's an old tactic," Mr Reed said.
Justice Panckhurst replied: "There is nothing improper, he's simply asking you to be accurate."
Mr Reed has also asked questions about the discovery that a police photograph used at the first trial to show where the lens was found in Stephen's room, was later found to be inaccurate and simply showed a reflection.
Mr Doyle said he was "shocked" when he learned that the photograph of the lens was only a reflection.
10.54am: Mr Reed has told the judge "I give up" after a series of exchanges with the judge over his questioning of Mr Doyle about sock imprints.
Mr Reed had been asking questions of Mr Doyle about evidence that has come to light since the first trial and questioning the police investigation.
Justice Panckhurst asked how Mr Reed could question Mr Doyle about information in the years after Mr Doyle was the officer second in charge of the case.
Mr Reed said it would become apparent in his questions to come.
Justice Panckhurst said to Mr Reed: "You won't answer my question, will you?"
Mr Reed said it would become apparent where his line of questioning would be going.
"I give up," Mr Reed said.
He said if the judge makes a ruling, he will abide by it.
"My perception of fairness differs from yours and that's where we are. I'll try and be fair," Mr Reed said, referring to his line of questioning.
Mr Reed said police had gone to the morgue and measured Robin Bain's foot as 270mm but that was not while it was on the ground, where it would be larger.
He said the imprint found on the carpet was 280mm long.
Mr Reed said David Bain's foot has been measured at 300mm long.
He told the court an expert had said that a person with a foot size of 270mm wearing a sock would have an imprint of 280mm long.
10.37am: The defence has put the case that the bloody fingerprints found on the .22 rifle were put there months earlier, possibly during a possum hunt.
Bain's lawyer, Michael Reed, QC told the court it was now known from modern ESR testing that the blood on the firearm was not human blood.
Mr Reed asked Mr Doyle whether, if that was known in 1994, it would it have changed the police investigation.
Crown prosecutor Kieran Raftery objected to the question.
He said the Crown does not accept the fingerprints were made with possum blood.
Mr Raftery said the question from Mr Reed was unfair because the jury may take Mr Reed's argument of possum blood as a fact.
Justice Panckhurst agreed with the Crown.
10.26am: Michael Reed QC has continued his cross-examination this morning of the officer who was second in charge of the Bain murder investigation.
Former police officer James Doyle has confirmed that while police took a pair of black shorts, socks and a bloodied towel to Melbourne for further scientific testing, they did not take blood samples from Robin Bain after ESR was unable to conduct conclusive tests.
Yesterday it was revealed that police had obtained blood smears from Robin Bain's hands, but they were never tested.
Mr Doyle told the court he could not say why police did not take the samples from Robin Bain to Melbourne.
He also said he should have seen interview notes made by police after talking to a child psychiatrist.
The psychiatrist had told police that Robin Bain distributed "horrific" stories to his pupils just days before the murders took place, the court was told.
Mr Reed read out a statement from the psychiatrist who was critical of police.
"On Thursday the 23rd of June, 1994, I was interviewed by a police officer for half-an-hour. I was not asked to make a statement, the interview was superficial," the statement read.
Mr Doyle told the court that if the interview notes had been in the possession of a member of the police inquiry team, he would have expected to see them.
