Murdered woman was headbutted while holding her baby, witness says

Samuel Samson at the Invercargill High Court, where he is on trial over the murder of his former partner Azalia Wilson. Photo / ODT

A month before Azalia Wilson was killed, the man accused of her murder headbutted her while she was holding their baby, a court heard yesterday.

Samuel Samson is charged with the murder of Wilson at the Bavarian Motel, Waikiwi, in Invercargill, on November 17, 2019.

In court yesterday, Terina King gave evidence that Wilson had come to her house with her baby on October 18, 2019, to have a few drinks.

About 3am, Samson turned up at the property loudly banging on the sliding doors.

"He came in and he headed straight for the kitchen.

"'He went straight to the knife block and he got two knives.

"He made the comment, 'Do you know what Azalia has done to me?'."

It was during this incident, which lasted about an hour, that he threatened them while waving the knives near their faces and would not let Wilson make a bottle for the baby who was crying.

"Sam wasn't having a bar of it and headbutted her while she was holding [the baby]."

He left when King told Samson they would not go to the police.

In cross-examination, defence counsel Hugo Young said as King was Wilson's best friend she was exaggerating her evidence to support Wilson's family.

King denied this.

Jurors also saw a short video of Wilson holding her baby sitting beside Samson, just hours before she was killed.

Sheena Taki said she had received the video from Samson, one of three, about 10.15pm on November 16.

Samson had been at Reon Taki's (Sheena Taki's brother) house for his birthday party, arriving between 6.30pm and 7pm but had gone back to the motel to look after the baby between 8.30pm and 9.30pm.

However, Samson then paid Wilson $300 so he could return, she said.

In the video, Wilson and Samson are laughing together as she holds the baby and Samson explains how he paid the money so he could come back and drink.

After returning to the party, between 10.15pm and 10.30pm, some partygoers then went on to the Vinyl Bar, in Invercargill about midnight.

Many of those at the party gave evidence yesterday about seeing Samson at the party on the night and also later at the Vinyl Bar. He had been in good spirits and there had been no indication he was stroppy or unhappy about anything, they said.

Detective Jeremy Dix said he had listened to 24 calls between Wilson and Samson, lasting in duration from seconds to 36 minutes.

A call from October 5, 2019, was played which outlined the status of their relationship.

When Samson asks her in the call about no more "sexual stuff", she replied; "No, I just think it's going to end badly so I'm just making the decision."

He tells her he respects her decision then asks her not to have other males around the baby.

"No, I'm not going to," she replied.

He spoke to her about not knowing about their future had made him think things up in his head.

"I think, I think, that was another reason, I think, like, like about why I was so weird and freaky about you know like what you're up to and s..."

Another person gave evidence during the trial yesterday, however Justice Gerald Nation granted them name suppression and also suppressed publication of their evidence.

The trial continues today.