Transvestite murder jury retires for night

Jurors at the trial of two men accused of murdering an Upper Hutt transvestite will resume deliberations tomorrow.

The jury retired this afternoon to consider their verdict but later indicated they were unlikely to reach a decision tonight,

Phillip Christopher Sanders, 42, and David Shaun Galloway, 20, have blamed each other for the fatal blows that killed Richard Milton Jones in his small Totara Park Rd flat on April 29 last year.

A cannabis dealer, the slightly built Mr Jones - who wore women's clothes and was known as "Diksy" - suffered a fractured skull and 21 broken ribs in a brutal bashing, the High Court at Wellington was told.

The 64-year-old also had internal injuries and bruising to his face, arms, legs, body and head - consistent, said Crown prosecutor Simon Barr, with sustained hitting, stomping and kicking.

Sanders knew Mr Jones and had visited his home a number of times, while his friend Galloway had been there at least once previously.

But Sanders had fallen out with "Diksy" in the months before the death and was angry that afternoon, which was his (the accused's) birthday.

He and Galloway drank a bottle of bourbon in an Upper Hutt park before Sanders went to Mr Jones' flat, followed soon after by Galloway.

A neighbour called police after hearing yelling and banging.

According to the Crown, officers found the two accused agitated and showing signs of exertion. Mr Jones was "broken and motionless and lying on the floor".

His blood was spattered on the bedroom walls and also found on the clothes and shoes worn by Sanders and Galloway.

In interviews with the police, the pair blamed each other.

Sanders said Mr Jones came at him with a knife, calling him a thief, so he hit him in the head.

Galloway told police he had gone to the flat to "bash" a transvestite, saying he did not like that kind of thing.

"I believe in Adam and Eve, not Adam and Steve."

He later altered his statement, claiming he had gone to Mr Jones' house to buy a cannabis tinnie.

Sanders' lawyer, Paul Paino, said his client had gone to the house to buy drugs and had no intention to harm Mr Jones. He had no problem with the older man's sexuality.

Mr Paino said Galloway "lost it" and repeatedly assaulted Mr Jones in a frenzied attack during which he hit him with a television set.

But Galloway's lawyer, Robert Stevens, contested that, saying Sanders had the motive for the killing and "did it without any encouragement".

More than 70 witnesses were heard during the three-and-a-half week trial.

- NZPA