Recliner manslaughter trial: Stroke victim's death was inevitable, defence argues

Malia Li is on trial for causing her husband's death by failing to provide necessities as his legal carer. Photo / Michael Craig

Lawyers for a widow on trial for manslaughter after her stroke-victim husband died in decrepit conditions at their South Auckland home have asked jurors not to view the case through the lens of a wine-sipping Remuera opera fan.

It's important, defence counsel Mark Ryan suggested during his lengthy closing argument, that jurors set aside white privilege and try to see it through the eyes of "the underclass" and "the impoverished who struggle on a daily basis".

Lanitola Epenisa died in October 2016 from blood poisoning caused by pressure sores — with one on his buttocks so deep muscle and bone could be seen. Throughout the month-long trial, witnesses called by the Crown described an overpowering stench in the room he shared with his wife and twin daughters, with rats and maggots near the faeces- and urine-stained recliner where he spent most of his time.

His widow, former Healthcare NZ worker Malia Li, was grossly negligent in her care for him, Crown prosecutors Jasper Rhodes and Freddy Faull argued a day earlier at the Auckland High Court.

But in their response, defence counsel Ryan and Nalesoni Tupou urged jurors to take into account cultural dynamics and suggested their client will face "significant prejudice" if jurors allow her extreme poverty or the "entirely rundown state" of the family's home to play a part in their deliberations.

"You can't hold that against her if that's the only accommodations she can afford," Ryan said. "There was no washing machine, which meant she had to keep her husband's soiled clothing in plastic bags. Of course, they're going to smell.

"... Put yourself in the shoes of the defendant."

Epenisa died rapidly, likely within hours of developing extreme pressure sores, because of his already existing poor health and his own repeated refusal to seek medical help, the defence argued.

"Was this a high degree of negligence? I suggest not," Ryan told jurors. "This is a very sad case of a very sick man ...

"Because of the infection that was bubbling away below the surface at that time ... he rapidly died. And as a result of that, the defendant is before you charged with unlawfully killing him. That can't be right. In the circumstances at the time ... Mrs Li's conduct can't be classified as so bad as to be considered criminal. It just can't."

Ryan also used the closing remarks to lash out at Healthcare NZ and Government-funded disability organisation Taikura Trust, suggesting they were the ones who failed Epenisa and his family. While the organisations aren't on trial, he pointed out repeatedly, "their accepted failures are also able to be taken into account when you consider the circumstances".

"Significant and serious failures were identified," Ryan said, explaining that Epenisa hadn't been seen by either organisation in months. "The failures of the healthcare providers, in this case, is startling and disturbing."

Last week, the defence called as the final two witnesses the couple's daughters, who were 16 at the time of Epenisa's death. During extensive cross-examination, Crown prosecutors pointed to multiple inconsistencies between their statements.

Lanitola Epenisa died in October 2016 from sepsis. Photo / Supplied

Ryan also came to the now-adult twins' defence during his argument, pointing out that "memories and recall diminish" over the course of five years and that "in stressful situations people get things wrong". He read aloud the testimony from one of the daughters which, he said, "strikes at the heart of this whole case".

"I just want to say, my mum, she is a good person and we did our best to care for our father," the daughter said. "And it was only him who refused our help. We loved our father very much. We never left him unfed or without pills."

Jurors are expected to begin deliberating the case in the morning.