"Why?" - it is the burning question a jury has to wrestle with in a trial centred around the claimed kidnapping and torture of a man with the IQ of a child.
Opening his defence of Leneith Moeke, 36, in the High Court at Rotorua late on Wednesday, lawyer Gene Tomlinson said the "why" question centred around what reason Moeke had for doing the things he's accused of.
Moeke is on trial with his partner, Gene Karauria, 29, facing a raft of charges relating to the impaired man who lived in their Eastern Bay of Plenty home for more than two years after Moeke found him sleeping in bushes and living rough on the street.
Some of the charges are laid separately, others jointly, some are representative - meaning they allegedly happened more than once. Both accused pleaded not guilty when the trial began on August 7.
Mr Tomlinson reminded the jury the impaired man had not claimed any form of ill-treatment until after another man living in the house left. That man testified he hadn't seen any ill-treatment.
