Samurai victim's 'evil' hand prompted attack

Renee Gunbie's hand was an evil hand which made drugs, so Antonie Dixon cut it off, a court heard yesterday. Psychiatrist Karl Jansen told the High Court in Auckland that he interviewed Dixon several times in Auckland Prison at Paremoremo after Dixon had allegedly chopped off the hands of two women, then driven to Auckland, where he shot a man dead and took a hostage.

Dixon is charged with murder and attempted murder.

Dr Jansen told the court Dixon displayed thought disorder during the interviews for a mental assessment, was paranoid about being under surveillance and had said he had been under surveillance for many years by planes, helicopters and a satellite.

Dixon had claimed God told him to attack Renee Gunbie and Simonne Butler with a samurai sword at Pipiroa near Thames in January 2003, the court heard.

They were demonised, as was James Te Aute, 25, the man he is alleged to have shot dead in East Auckland after driving from Pipiroa.

Dixon, 36, has denied the charges. Both women were badly mutilated in the attack, during which the samurai sword broke.

Dr Jansen said Dixon displayed persecutory delusion involving a widespread plot against him in which almost everyone was involved.

It was a giant conspiracy, Dixon had claimed.

Dixon's lawyer, Barry Hart, earlier told the court insanity was one defence and expert psychiatric evidence about the defendant's mental state would be a major feature of the case.

The Crown had told the court Dixon was on a drug-crazed crime spree when he attacked the two women.

Dr Jansen testified that Dixon told him he got his morals from the Bible.

"I have been given a lot of power that other people can't see or do," Dixon told him.

"I know what happens in the future. I have a special connection with God. I can see God. God was the one who told me to chop their heads off. The girls didn't want to look like a sideshow in a funny farm so they didn't say anything about that."

Later in his evidence, Dr Jansen told the court Dixon said God had told him Ms Gunbie and Ms Butler were trying to kill him.

"God said they were two Judases."

He said 10 years ago he cut his hand but doctors knocked him out and put a chip into him. "I cut into my right hand and drilled into my kneecaps to find the chip," Dixon had said.

Dr Jansen said that during a physical examination he noticed an arrow-shaped scar on Dixon's right hand and two oval scares on both knee joints.

Dixon also said he had cut into his arm with a Stanley knife looking for chips.

Later, when he went to the Mason Clinic in Auckland, he said staff spoke Asian. "They thought I was stupid. They wanted to set me up. They were working with the police and the Government."

He also said he thought he was a dead man.

"I don't give a f*** what they do to me. I'm a dead man."

He wanted to hang himself in prison but God told him it was sacrilegious.

Mr Te Aute was demonised and was coming to kill him in Auckland.

"They say I shot him in the back but I saw his face and I saw the devil."

He told Dr Jansen that Mr Te Aute was a gangster and was going to kill him.

Dr Jansen said he asked Dixon if he had taken drugs the day of the attack.

"I didn't take any P [pure methamphetamine). That's a police excuse to explain what's happened. No one else has done what I have done. A lot of people are taking P out there."

Dr Jansen said Dixon told him that if he had been taking P he would not have been asleep on the day.

The trial is continuing.

- NZPA