Lachlan Johnson, of Taranaki, is defending a murder charge in the High Court at New Plymouth. Photo / Tara Shaskey
Mitchell Mosen may have been battling brain cancer but it was a gunshot wound to the chest that ended his life, despite his mother's best efforts to resuscitate him. Now, his neighbour is defending a murder charge.
When Lachlan Johnson arrived at the Mosens' rural Taranaki property armed with a loaded semi-automatic shotgun, he was enraged and looking for retribution, the Crown allege.
Johnson shot Mosen in the foot and then during a struggle between the pair, he pulled the trigger a further five times.
Four shots hit the porch but the fifth struck Mosen in the chest and ended his life shortly after.
The death was a calculated murder, the Crown allege.
But while defence accept that Johnson killed Mosen, lawyer Paul Keegan said it was without murderous intent and the death instead amounted to manslaughter.
On Monday, the retrial of Johnson began in the High Court at New Plymouth.
Prosecutor Justin Marinovich opened the Crown's case by telling the jury Johnson had killed Mosen in retaliation to an earlier altercation between the pair.
Mosen called for help and as Patricia phoned for an ambulance she began work to treat his foot.
But it wasn't immediately clear to her that he had also been shot in the chest, and as Johnson left the scene, he told her "I've only shot him in the foot. You're a nurse, you fix it."
While on the call to emergency services, Patricia found the second wound and her son then began to lose consciousness.
She began CPR and when police and paramedics later arrived, they took over.
But Mosen was pronounced dead at 7.55pm.
At his house, Johnson had left a note for his son saying "I just shot a dude, be good," before phoning police.