A teenage murder accused says he was in "fight mode, ultra-focused" when he fatally stabbed a Dunedin schoolboy.
But the now 14-year-old said he never planned to use the knife at the bus hu b in May and never believed he could kill 16-year-old Enere Taana-McLaren.
The High Court at Dunedin today heard from forensic psychiatrist Maxwell Pankhurst who met the defendant eight times and reviewed CCTV footage and witness statements before writing a lengthy report.
The clinician questioned the teen in detail regarding the events at the bus hub which have been replayed numerous times in court.
Enere’s derogatory comments about the defendant’s attire resulted in the two men squaring off on the footpath.
"He was being disrespectful . . . disrespect makes me feel like s...," the boy said.
"He was big but not that big. I thought I could fight him."
The defendant told Dr Pankhurst as he approached Enere he felt anxious he may be beaten up in front of everyone at the bus hub.
Showing the knife to a school bully had defused a confrontation just weeks before the incident but the teenager said flashing the weapon had no effect on the victim.
"I pulled it out and started chasing him. I had no thoughts to stab him," he said.
But "things changed" when Enere aimed a kick at his head.
"I was in fight mode, ultra focused," the defendant said.
He recalled being shocked that he had stabbed someone but did not anticipate such catastrophic consequences.
"I thought he would be fine. I didn’t know it was going to get an artery or whatever," he told Dr Pankhurst.
Central to the defence case was an incident just nine months before the stabbing in which the defendant was the victim of a violent robbery in a Dunedin park.
Dr Pankhurst said it had a "profound impact" on the teen and there was strong evidence it had caused PTSD.
"I couldn’t go out for three months afterwards. I was lonely and disengaged from reality," the boy said.
After receiving advice from his mother to "hit back", he described his efforts to change his attitude.
"I could sack it, or get out and face things again," the defendant said.
He told Dr Pankhurst he began watching fight videos on YouTube and began doing weights and push-ups in the garage of the family home.
He said he also made a punching bag out of an old fridge and wrapped his hands in clothes.
Around that time, the teen’s father found a corkscrew in his room – he explained it was a form of protection.
The defendant told Dr Pankhurst, he later began carrying a knife when out in public.
"I didn’t have any thoughts to stab [people]. I just didn’t want to be the guy that gets bullied," he said.
"It started making me a little more confident."
The teenager said that despite being repeatedly assaulted at school – cell-phone footage of which was often circulated on social media – he did not take a weapon to class.
He recounted to the psychiatrist having his shoes thrown in the river and water poured over his desk.
The start of the 2024 school year was "like walking into the lion’s den", the teen said.
In another violent altercation, he said he was beaten but got some respect from others for standing his ground.
"It reinforced the fact that the only way forward was not backing down from bullies," Dr Pankhurst said.
The fatal stabbing, he told the court, was a result of the defendant’s commitment to this fragile new persona and a product of his impulsive adolescent brain, alongside his diagnoses of PTSD and ADHD.
Crown prosecutor Richard Smith noted Dr Pankhurst’s initial report, written four months before the final version, did not find prominent symptoms of PTSD.
The diagnosis was only made after a further final meeting with the defendant last month, the court heard.
Accused had adopted "gangster ways"
A Dunedin teen accused of murder had adopted “gangster ways” in the lead up to a fatal stabbing, a court has heard.
The now 14-year-old is on trial before the High Court at Dunedin following the death of Enere Taana-McLaren, 16, at the bus hub in May.
The Trinity College student died from a single stab wound to the stomach and while CCTV captured the defendant inflicting the fatal blow, he pleaded not guilty on the basis of self-defence.
Jurors last week heard the teenager had reported being subjected to a violent armed robbery in a Halfway Bush Park in August 2023.
Forensic psychiatrist Brandon Strange first met the defendant in June, a couple of weeks after he was remanded to a Youth Justice residence in Canterbury.
He discussed the alleged park attack with the defendant and his family and they agreed the teen’s outlook had changed drastically following the event.
“He watched fight videos to learn how to fight because he ‘needed a way to feel safe’. His thinking was: ‘if someone comes after me, I have a way to protect myself’,” Dr Strange told the jury.
“He started carrying a knife ‘to feel safe’.”
The teen told the mental-health professionals he had been bullied at school but found acceptance with friends who got into trouble.
“He assimilated the gangster ways because it provides safety and acceptance,” Dr Strange said.
He diagnosed the defendant as having PTSD.
Dr Strange said the disorder manifested in the teenager being hypervigilant while in public.
“[He was] consistently thinking about threats from others and wanted to be ready,” the psychiatrist said.
“He was depressed, sad and felt helpless.”
Dr Strange told the court the boy had adopted a “gangster persona . . . [acting] like he was a big man” while on remand.
“He was talking about gang stuff . . . possibly Mongrel Mob – the dogs,” Dr Strange said.
He put the teen’s conduct down to “impression management”.
“We assumed his behaviours were his way of protecting himself in the environment, possibly driven by anxiety,” Dr Strange said.
The trial continues.
