The rugby great said he was shocked about his grandson's plight. Photo / Photosport
The rugby great said he was shocked about his grandson's plight. Photo / Photosport
The family of All Black legend Sir Colin Meads is shaken after one of Sir Colin's grandchildren was charged with murder over the killing of a man involved in the Gold Coast drug trade.
Melbourne-based Clinton Stockman - one of Sir Colin's 14 grandchildren - was initially charged in February with being an accessory after the fact to murder by police investigating the July 2015 killing of Gregory John Dufty, 37.
That charge has been upgraded to murder.
The arrest comes as a double blow for Sir Colin, who played 133 matches for the men in black between 1957-71, as he battles a debilitating kidney illness.
The rugby great said he was shocked about his grandson's plight.
"He was back in New Zealand for his sister's 21st," he said.
Police allege Dufty was brutally bashed and his body burned. His remains have not been found.
Stockman, 28, is one of five people charged with murder in the nine-month investigation into Dufty's disappearance. The others include brothers Lionel Patea and Nelson Patea, their cousin Aaron Crawford - whom Australian media report to be the son of a New Zealand police officer - and Liam Bliss. Lionel Patea is a former sergeant-at-arms in the Bandidos motorcycle gang.
Sir Colin described his health battle as a "bad patch" but had been told by specialists he would "come right again". "I am not too good. I have been crook for a couple of months," he said.
"It is just a matter of getting on top of it. I am full of drugs and medication. It will come right."
Clinton Stockman, Sir Colin Meads' grandson, in 2006. Photo / Stephen Barker
Sir Colin's grandson was given bail on condition he surrendered his passport, reported to police weekly in Melbourne and didn't go within 100m of an international airport.
But Victorian homicide squad detectives arrested Stockman on May 9, upgrading his charges to murder. He appeared in a Melbourne court the following day and was extradited to the Gold Coast.
Police say Dufty was killed after being lured to a Queensland property on the pretence of a drug deal last July.
It is alleged Crawford was seeking revenge after Dufty stole marijuana to pay off a debt with another drug dealer.
The Patea brothers and Crawford are cousins of former Australian Idol contestant and pop sensation Ricki-Lee Coulter.
Dufty's body was to be disposed of in a bonfire on a rural property, Bliss told police in the witness statement, which was filed in court when Crawford unsuccessfully sought bail.
In February, police conducted an extensive search of a property in Casino, northern New South Wales.
After the search, detective superintendent Dave Hutchinson said: "We believe the body was burned over a period of time.
"Police located some items of interest and took samples, which will be subject to ongoing forensic examination."
