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The Privy Council was today told that convicted multiple murderer David Bain had created a "fictitious suicide scenario" to implicate his father for the killings.
The case is in fourth session in London and today the New Zealand Crown began presenting its argument to the five sitting law lords.
Bain was sentenced to life imprisonment with a 16-year non-parole period in 1995 after being found guilty of killing his parents and three siblings in 1994.
New Zealand solicitor-general David Collins, QC, today recapped the Crown's case, which had been "enhanced" in what had been a lengthy legal process, culminating in Bain's guilty verdict being upheld by the New Zealand Court of Appeal.
He said Bain had yet to explain the 20 minute gap between his arriving home from his paper run and discovering the bodies, and then phoning the emergency services.
His story was " one of many inconsistencies", Dr Collins said.
Bain had used the 20 minute gap to create a "fictitious suicide scenario".
Briefly, Dr Collins said Bain had woken up, got dressed, and killed four of his five family members, in the process getting blood spatters on his clothes and socks.
Bain had then gone out, done his paper round and arrived home, turning on his computer shortly after, about 6.44am, Dr Collins said. He then hid in an alcove and shot his father from behind a curtain.
Bain's mother Margaret, father Robin, sisters Arawa, 19, and Laniet, 18, and brother Stephen, 14, were each shot in the head with a silenced .22-calibre rifle, which he afterwards wiped down. Bain then waited until about 7.10am before phoning the emergency services, telling them he had found all his family dead.
Later Bain said he found the bodies of only his mother and father, Mr Collins said.
Meanwhile, on returning from his paper run, Bain had washed a green jersey he had worn that morning, the cycle on the washing machine lasting 45 minutes to one hour, Dr Collins said.
Police had not heard the washing machine when they entered the premises at 7.30am. They were listening for noises, he said.
Dr Collins told the law lords that Bain's statement that he heard Laniet gurgling and groaning was a "very revealing" piece of information and "clearly quite incriminating".
Furthermore, the glasses Bain wore on this day, which belonged to his mother Margaret, had been broken in his fight with younger brother Stephen.
Dr Collins described the fight as a "tornado" which caused items in Stephen's room to fall all over the place, including over the broken glasses.
The washing machine had a bloody palm print on its side, Dr Collins said. The palm print belong to Bain.
The hearing continues.
- NZPA
