A festering dispute over whānau land "down the coast" is at the core of an attempted murder, evidence given relating to a shooting 17 years ago indicates.
On trial in the High Court at Rotorua is Tauranga man Warren Uata Kiwi, 58, who has denied attempting to murder Karl Anders Nyman at his home in Owhata, Rotorua, on July 31, 2002. Kiwi also pleaded not guilty to conspiring with others to murder Nyman between April and July the same year.
A distant relative of Kiwi's, Coral Therese Farrell, said he told her in 2011 he had been responsible for the shooting, claiming Kiwi told her he had been asked by someone to "take Nyman out" because of a land dispute.
Questioned by Crown prosecutor Chris Macklin, she said she knew Kiwi as Archie and had been told about his involvement at a family member's funeral. She claimed she had been instructed not to bring the name of the person who ordered the shooting into any conversations.
She agreed with Kiwi's lawyer, Gene Tomlinson, Kiwi liked to tell stories. Pressed, she agreed some may not necessarily be true.