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Threats and money worries have persuaded the man accused of fatally stabbing a teenage tagger outside his Auckland home to sell up.
Bruce Emery has listed the three-bedroom Manurewa house he shared with his wife and three children until the death of 15-year-old Pihema Cameron in January. Emery received death threats and the family is living at a secret address with police protection while his case goes through the courts.
He said they may move as far as the South Island, despite the financial and emotional support of many neighbours and the Asian community - his wife is Chinese-Indonesian.
Emery was "anxious" when he returned to the house for the first time two weeks ago.
The sprawling 1970s property is also the office and workshop for his marine upholstery business.
Emery said a few people had seen him coming and going as he worked "standard" days in the ground floor premises.
The living area above is empty.
Emery said his brothers and sisters "panicked" after the stabbing and sold many of his family's possessions.
"Everything has been moved out, sold or stored. A house is not a house when your family is not there."
The 50-year-old is due back in court on June 16 for a pre-depositions hearing. The police will argue he chased Cameron from his property with a knife and stabbed him to death in a nearby street.
Emery said his lawyer, Chris Comeskey, would argue self-defence and is hopeful of an acquittal.
In the meantime, his family continues to live at an undisclosed address, with his children in unfamiliar schools. "The biggest thing is not feeling settled and the pressure of constantly having to juggle finance because I'm self-employed and I haven't been working for a while because of what's happened.
"It's stressful trying to work out just how much all the legal fees will cost."
Emery said he was sad to sell their home, and while the property slump might make it harder to shift, he had no plans to move his family back in.
"I'd like to go somewhere a bit more peaceful and relaxed, have a fresh start. We have even entertained the idea of moving down to the South Island."
Emery said his family had been "pretty strong" but the situation had been hard on the children.
His wife, Sotju, agreed but said "I have to be strong".
While the death threats have stopped, the family have their own security checks in place on top of police protection.
Emery said they rang their friends when they went out and when they got home. "We are very precise on our times and we have to make sure we stick to the plans so our friends don't have to worry."
Emery said he still thought of Cameron and would consider meeting the teenager's mother when she was ready.
He was sitting on the deck enjoying an iced tea when he heard a spraycan being shaken and confronted the teenager on January 26.
"Maybe if I'd just sat down and watched TV I wouldn't have known anything was happening at all. But if you dwell on that all your life you'll just end up nuts."
