Two men charged with murdering a 16-year-old youth in an Upper Riccarton park also face charges of indecently assaulting him as their five-week trial opened in the High Court at Christchurch today.
Thomas Tihema Christie, 26, and Sonny Avon Rehu, 32, deny the joint charge of murdering Shaun Martin William Finnerty-Gallagher, who was found dead after being beaten in the Auburn Reserve on February 13 last year.
They both also denied charges of indecent assault when the charges were read before Justice Graham Panckhurst. A suppression order that had banned the details of the charges lapsed today.
Crown prosecutor Barnaby Hawes described Shaun Finnerty-Gallagher as "a young man with problems" who had attention deficit hyperactivity disorder, and who had run away from Child, Youth and Family care.
He had met the older men who were part of a group that was well known in "certain social circles".
The youth had wanted acceptance and tried to fit in with the men and their associates. "He was always going to be something of a whipping boy," he said.
The Crown says the youth was with a group that left the library on February 12 and walked to Riccarton for a day of stealing and drinking.
That night he was caught while the group was shoplifting vodka at Liquor King in Riccarton. He was tripped at the door of the store and tackled in the carpark. He called out to "Tom-Tom" - Christie's nickname - for help.
Mr Hawes said Rehu and Christie believed he had "narked" on them and witnesses would describe him being beaten.
Crown pathologists would describe the injuries from the beating, including facial abrasions, a broken nose, an abrasion to his scrotum, cuts to his scalp, and a brain injury that could have caused unconsciousness.
The youth's death was mainly caused by postural asphyxia with significant features being a high level of alcohol intoxication and head injuries, Mr Hawes said.
His broken nose would have compromised his ability to breathe while unconscious.
Christie phoned an ambulance next morning, saying he had found the youth lying in the park screaming that he was scared of Sonny Rehu. Ambulance officers found he had been dead for some time.
The victim was naked from the waist down.
The pair blamed each other for the beating in their statements, and Christie admitted helping Rehu to strip him.
Mr Hawes said the humiliation resulting from stripping the youth naked in a public reserve could be regarded as indecent assault even if the motive was not strictly sexual gratification.
Rehu's defence lawyer, Kerry Cook, said Rehu had not caused or contributed to the death.
Margaret Sewell, appearing for Christie, asked the jury to concentrate on the issues and to reject irrelevant evidence it would hear about "criminal behaviour and unpleasant behaviour".
