Alana Jane Bamber has pleaded not guilty. Photo / Pool
Alana Jane Bamber has pleaded not guilty. Photo / Pool
The wife of a slain farmer phoned police claiming she was the victim of a domestic assault four days before he was violently murdered.
But a friend of Alana Bamber, who denies having anything to do with Canterbury dairy farm worker Tony Grant Waldron's death, spoke today of their surprise at seeing the allegedly battered wife the next day "walking and talking like there was nothing wrong with her".
Bamber's 111 call was played to a jury this morning at the High Court in Christchurch where she claims Waldron "beat the s*** out of me in front of the kids".
Waldron, 29, was found dead at his Gardiners Rd, Rakaia, home, 45 minutes south of Christchurch, on September 18, 2019, after failing to show up for 5.30am milking.
After a massive homicide investigation, Waldron's wife Bamber, 35, and her cousin, Joshua Dylan Morris-Bamber, 28, were charged with murder.
They deny murdering Waldron or having any part in his death.
Joshua Dylan Morris-Bamber denies murdering Tony Waldron in September 2019. Photo / Pool
Morris-Bamber's defence counsel Anne Stevens KC earlier said the Crown's alleged four-minute window where he is supposed to have murdered Waldron in his sleep is "simply not credible".
The court heard today from part-time casual dairy farm worker Eilish Brook who said Bamber had phoned her on Saturday, September 14, saying that Waldron had attacked her.
Bamber had been at a party the night before and arrived home in the early hours of the morning.
Someone later sent Waldron a video of Bamber at the party which showed her allegedly flirting with another man, the court has heard.
He messaged her: "Don't be there when I get home."
But when he returned, she was still there, and that's when she alleges Waldron assaulted her in the laundry of their farm home. She claimed he punched her in the ribs and "threw her all around" the room.
On the recording, she is heard telling the call-taker that Waldron has a "personality disorder" where he "can't have anyone thinking he's not a nice guy".
Rakaia senior constable Trevor Gurney was called out and spoke to the couple.
He found Waldron calm and cooperative while describing the house as messy, with dirty dishes around the kitchen and washing lying around.
Bamber was complaining of stomach pain but ambulance staff couldn't identify any physical injuries, Gurney said.
He issued a police safety order but allowed Waldron to stay at the farm property as Bamber indicated she would stay with family in Christchurch.
She was taken to hospital and phoned Brook, saying she had serious injuries, including concussion, separated ribs, cracked blood, and was p****** blood.
The friend – who described Bamber today as erratic, aggressive, lazy, and "very dirty" and doubted her fears that Waldron was having an affair - advised her to take photographs of her injuries for evidence "because it sounded bad".
But when she saw Bamber the following day at a Christchurch flat, she was "walking and talking like there was nothing wrong with her", Brook said.
Later, when Brook saw Waldron he was upset and hurt, the court heard.
Waldron told her that he had only pushed her off him when she'd tried to take his phone away.
On the night of September 17, city hotel chef Morris-Bamber went drinking after work and afterwards visited Bamber at the Gloucester St, Christchurch flat she was staying at.
They chatted, the Crown says, for about 15 minutes.
Then, at about 11pm, Morris-Bamber sent a Facebook message to Bamber, which was allegedly seen by a witness and reportedly said: "What is Tony's address? I need to get some anger out."
The essential piece of evidence – that Morris-Bamber denies – was not able to be retrieved because both murder accused allegedly deleted content from their phones.
Family members allegedly tried to stop Morris-Bamber from heading to Waldron's property that night but Bamber is accused of telling them to leave him, adding: "Better one life than two".
Waldron that night went to bed about 12.56am after playing an online video game.
The Crown alleges that Morris-Bamber drove for about 45 minutes south on SH1 to Waldron's farm, with cellphone data and CCTV from NZTA cameras plotting his movements.
His car, the Crown says, was captured passing a golf course going in the direction of Gardiners Rd at 12.56am.
The same car is seen passing the same golf course again, heading back to Rakaia, at 1.04am.
With driving time, the Crown says Morris-Bamber had "at least four minutes" at Waldron's house, which they say was "ample time" to go inside and fatally assault him while he was sleeping.
A post-mortem examination suggests Waldron was struck by a solid weapon at least three times on the side of his head, ear and neck.
Waldron suffered a fractured skull – dislodging a 4cm x 2cm fragment of bone - along with other multiple cracks and a broken jaw.
Morris-Bamber left at speed, the Crown claims, stopping briefly to hide "forensically important items" like the murder weapon and bloodied clothing that he would later allegedly move again. They would never be found, the court heard.
His lawyer Stevens says the Crown's scenario of a four-minute window is "simply not credible" and questioned the absence of blood traces in his car.
Bamber's defence counsel Kerry Cook says she was not there when her husband died – and does not know what happened. She didn't want Waldron dead, or hurt, and "whatever happened was not her wish, not her involvement, not her desire, not her design".
The trial, before Justice Gerald Nation, continues.
