Rena Joyce murder trial: 'He told me he was scared, he told me he wanted to leave her,' sister of slain man tells jury

The alleged killer on the first day of her trial in the High Court at Christchurch. Photo / Peter Meecham

Murder accused Rena Joyce would chase and attack her partner Martin Berry with "anything that was available" on a "regular basis" and almost bit his nose off in one assault, his brother says.

David Berry said his older brother would "walk the streets all night" to avoid going home and getting hurt and "didn't know how" to leave his abusive partner.

"It was really bad," said David Berry.

"I feared for his life - it was an incident away in my eyes."

That incident came in December 2020 when Joyce allegedly murdered Berry, 55 at his Main North Road home.

She stabbed him repeatedly and cut his throat then buried his body in a compost heap in his own backyard.

His remains were found two weeks later after Joyce walked into a Christchurch police station and told staff she had "manslaughtered" Berry and buried him in the garden.

The 56-year-old is facing a charge of murder and is on trial in the High Court at Christchurch.

She claims the attack was accidental and came after a heated argument with Berry where she "just snapped".

This afternoon the court heard evidence from Berry's brother who gave a sombre insight into the relationship.

The jury earlier heard that the fatal assault came after a string of attacks on Berry by Joyce.

She had been sent to prison after one incident and at the time of his alleged murder Berry had a protection order against Joyce.

"We implored him to get away," David Berry told the court.

"He couldn't leave, he didn't know how to get away from her.

"She just wouldn't leave and he didn't know what to do."

He said Berry moved to Christchurch 20 years ago - initially to attend an alcohol rehab centre for an "on and off" drinking problem.

Berry met Joyce in 2017 at a Christmas party.

He was spending the holidays with his brother and went to the party with him.

Joyce was a neighbour of the host and was also there.

The pair started a relationship and eventually, she moved to Christchurch.

Rena Joyce, aka Moloney, allegedly killed her partner and dumped his body in a compost heap at his Christchurch property. Photo / Peter Meecham

"Initially I think it was all lovey-dovey and then I think reasonably quickly it deteriorated into violence - drunken violence," David Berry said.

"He would tell me that she'd attacked him and this became a regular occurrence … I went down there and stayed … and she attacked me one night, for no reason.

"Pretty much whenever she got drunk it would degrade into violence … she nearly bit his nose off once, she smashed a chair over him, she beat him, she smashed the telephone and hid phones so he couldn't' ring.

"Sometimes he said he'd lust leave and walk the streets all night … he couldn't go home for fear of further violence."

David Berry said his brother called him "covertly" about what was going on.

He had to call in secret because when Joyce "was always hovering" when he was able to use the phone

"He was beaten up so bad once they called an ambulance," said David Berry.

"I never saw the physical injuries … I took his word for it because he wasn't a liar.

"She would throw things at him, she would chase him with household objects … she chased him with a knife several times.

"I think she would use anything that was available."

David Berry last saw his brother on December 29 2020 - just hours before the fatal attack.

He was in Christchurch with his partner and took Berry and Joyce out for lunch at a local Indian restaurant.

"He looked really good ... I had no reason to think anything untoward would happen," he said.

David Berry wanted to speak to his brother about his relationship and drinking but was not comfortable doing so in front of Joyce.

He was shown images of the house taken by police after Berry's body was found and said it was very different to how he remembered on the day of the alleged murder.

He had not spent long there that day but recalled knick-knacks and other items in the house that were not there in the police images.

"It looked tidy and habited - which it doesn't in the photos," he said.

David Berry said his brother was known to smoke marijuana and over the years had admitted he had grown "a couple of plants in his garden".

But he was not aware of Berry having any major drug issues.

"I don't think Rena liked drugs," he said.

David Berry also told the court that when the police handed the house back to the family there was little left of his brother's property.

His records, some shoes and books were in the house but all of his other possessions were gone.

Rena Joyce aka Moloney is on trial in the High Court at Christchurch for allegedly murdering her partner Martin Berry in 2021. Photo / Pool

"When we were allowed back in the house… the majority of things had been cleared out, unfortunately," he said.

"Everything relating to Martin personally, unfortunately, had gone."

Defence lawyer Richard Peters questioned David Berry about whether his brother was violent towards Joyce.

He said he was aware of Berry being arrested on one occasion for assaulting Joyce.

Berry had been open about that with his younger brother.

"She'd attacked him and he just couldn't do anything to get away from her," David Berry recalled.

"He was just in a corner and lost it and hit her, hit her once in the face and I think she got a couple of black eyes."

He said he had never seen his brother hit another person in his life and he was known to be a gentle person.

"Martin was not the sort of person who would hurt a fly," David Berry said.

Peters also questioned him about his brother's drug use.

David Berry said he knew his brother smoked the drug but was not sure how often.

"I don't really think he smoked marijuana that often, to be fair," he said.

Berry's sister Joanna Statham's evidence followed.

She described him as a man who was "really passionate about a lot of things".

Those passions included chess, cricket and soccer.

Rena Joyce, aka Moloney, is charged with murdering her partner and dumping his body at his Christchurch property. Photo / Peter Meecham

"Maths, he was a whizz," she said.

"Numbers were his thing so it made sense for him to go into the bank and work there, and he enjoyed that."

He loved cricket and soccer, played indoor netball and was a keen gardener.

He also loved insects and spiders and Statham said he was always "trying to save little creatures".

She said over the years, despite the family trying to help him, Berry's drinking got "really bad".

He finally decided to "make a break" and "quite courageously" moved to Christchurch to undergo alcohol rehab and start fresh.

His mother eventually moved to Christchurch and bought a house with Berry.

Once he got on his feet she moved to Leeston just out of the city, allowing him more independence.

Statham said Berry loved his family and they spent as much time together as they could, even when she moved overseas.

That independence, Statham said, was destroyed when he met Joyce.

She said Joyce moving in with Berry in Christchurch was "quite sudden" but he was "very excited".

The pair spoke regularly - once a month at least - but that tailed off when Joyce came on the scene.

She told the court Joyce "was quite racist and verbally abusive" on at least one call.

She said "it was hard to get past what she said" and that resulted in fewer phone calls to Berry to avoid engaging with Joyce.

Statham, who only met Joyce once, said her brother confided in her about the abuse.

"It was quite violent," she said of the relationship.

"I knew he was scared, I knew he wanted to leave her but he didn't know if he could

"He was scared of Rena … he was trapped.

Statham said she urged Berry to leave and said she and their brother would help him.

"You just need to get on a plane and go," she told Berry.

She said she and David Berry would go to Christchurch and take care of everything else for him - to clear out the house and sell it.

"It's just stuff, we'll just sell it," Statham told Berry.

In the last conversation she had with him before he died they spoke about properties he could buy in the North Island.

He wanted to be free of Joyce, Statham said, and was excited to have a new start and a big garden to potter around in.

"We were looking at properties," she said.

"He told me that he was scared, he told me that he wanted to leave, he told me that he wanted to go to Whanganui… and just be happy."

Statham cried in court when she spoke about going into the home of her "big brother" for the first time after he was killed.

"Everything was gone, it was just wiped out and if it wasn't it was broken and just thrown over the fence ... pictures, photos - things that were special to us," she told the court.

"I wanted to get one of his T-shirts to put over his body bag, but it was all gone, there was nothing, Rena had gotten rid of it all.

"I just wanted to go in and pick up something that smelled like him ... but it was all gone."

The trial, before Justice Jonathan Eaton and a jury, continues

DO YOU NEED HELP?

If you're in danger now:

• Phone the police on 111 or ask neighbours of friends to ring for you.
• Run outside and head for where there are other people.
• Scream for help so that your neighbours can hear you.
• Take the children with you.
• Don't stop to get anything else.
• If you are being abused, remember it's not your fault. Violence is never okay

Where to go for help or more information:

• Shine, free national helpline 9am- 11pm every day - 0508 744 633 www.2shine.org.nz
• Women's Refuge: Free national crisis line operates 24/7 - 0800 refuge or 0800 733 843 www.womensrefuge.org.nz
• Shakti: Providing specialist cultural services for African, Asian and middle eastern women and their children. Crisis line 24/7 0800 742 584
• It's Not Ok: Information line 0800 456 450 www.areyouok.org.nz