Victim 'in wrong place at wrong time'

Two of the accused (above, from left) Maka Tuikolovatu, and Lionel Tekanawa in court to answer charges over the death of Joanne Wang. Photo / Natalie Slade

Joanne Wang chased an alleged thief across a carpark before he leaped into a stolen car and accelerated towards her, knocking her to the ground and leaving her with a fatal head injury, a court was told.

The 39-year-old businesswoman had been at the Manukau shopping centre on June 16, 2008 with her 8-year-old son Edmund and planned to meet her brother who had just arrived from the United States

It was a break in her usual routine, Crown prosecutor Christine Gordon SC said yesterday, and it put her in "the wrong place at the wrong time".

At that time, just after 3.30pm, Christopher Jacob Junior Shadrock, 23, and five associates were in two cars circling the carpark "looking for a handbag to steal".

Shadrock and the other accused yesterday went on trial at the High Court at Auckland. He is accused of murdering Ms Wang and stealing her handbag.

"Mrs Wang should have been able to return to her vehicle and drive away undisturbed. But it wasn't any other day - thieves were in the carpark and they were about to strike."

She and Edmund had just got into their van when the Crown alleges Shadrock ran over to them and reached over Edmund who was in the passenger seat and grabbed the handbag that contained a large sum of money.

Ms Gordon said he then ran off but didn't count on Ms Wang's "bravery and determination" when she chased after him yelling.

Shadrock leaped into the stolen car and began reversing, but was blocked by another car coming into the carpark.

The Crown says Ms Wang was standing in front of the car on the passenger side of the bonnet and would have been clearly visible to Shadrock.

Her son Edmund told police he saw his mother holding the "circly, round thingy", thought to be the wing mirror, before the vehicle accelerated forward and hit her.

She was flung to the side and hit her head on the concrete.

"Without hesitating he did not swerve to avoid her ... He chose to hit her with the vehicle to escape and avoid apprehension."

Ms Wang died in hospital the next day.

Vila Lemanu, 25, Maka Tuikolovatu, 21, and Lionel Manaaki Tekanawa, 23, are charged with stealing Ms Wang's handbag.

Tuikolovatu is also charged with assisting Shadrock avoid arrest by hiding the handbag and being an accessory after the fact to murder. Tekanawa,

Lemanu, Mateni Lynch, 20, and Terence Tere, 22, are accused of being an accessory after the fact to murder for allegedly burning the Nissan Regulus used in the hit and run.

Chris Wilkinson Smith, representing Shadrock, said Shadrock intended to take Ms Wang's bag but not her life.

He said the death was a "bag snatching gone tragically wrong". The defence did not accept Ms Wang was standing in front of the vehicle but was "off to the left side".

"He did not drive straight at her."

He said the car was being driven at low speed and had only moved forward "one or two car lengths for one or two seconds before Ms Wang loses her footing and strikes her head".

He said when a person acted unlawfully and someone lost their life when that wasn't the intention they could be found guilty of manslaughter.

He asked jurors to find Shadrock guilty of that charge and not murder.