Rope found in Marie Davis murder accused's house, court told

Marie Davis disappeared from her home in April last year. Photo / File

Lengths of yellow rope and latex gloves were found at the house where Dean Stewart Cameron was living at the time of the disappearance of Papanui teenager Marie Davis.

The rope has become an exhibit at Cameron's High Court trial on charges of raping and murdering the 15-year-old.

Cameron's sister gave evidence about the household in Veitches Road, Papanui, at the time of Marie's disappearance in April last year, on the sixth day of the trial before Justice Lester Chisholm and a jury in the High Court at Christchurch. She does not have suppression but she is not being named because of orders made relating to other witnesses, Christchurch's Court News website reported.

Cameron, a 39-year-old road worker, was living at her house at the time.

Cameron's sister was questioned closely by crown prosecutor Chris Lange about her assertion that she did not know Marie would be home alone at her house in Morrison Avenue when she dropped her off on the night Marie disappeared.

She said she had heard that Marie's mother was away on holiday in the North Island, but she believed that Marie's sister Amy was staying with her at the house.

Mr Lange questioned her about a statement to the police in which she said she did know Marie would have been home alone because her sister was somewhere else that night.

The woman said she did not know if she had said that, but she must have, if it was written in the statement.

She told the court of police moving the household out to a motel while the house was searched about a week after Marie's disappearance.

There were pieces of yellow rope in the garage, which her daughter and boyfriend had used for towing things such as skateboards, bikes, and scooters.

There were also many pairs of latex gloves which had been brought home from work by her and her daughter.

She told the court it was not unusual that Cameron was not at her house on the Sunday, the day after the disappearance. "I could go a whole week and not see him," she told the court.

Marie Davis disappeared on April 6 and her body was found in the Waimakariri River 11 days later.

- NZPA