Fourteen lawyers lined up in the High Court at Christchurch this morning for the start of the trial of six Timaru men accused of murdering freezing worker Wayne Kerry Bray.
The crown has three prosecutors and most of the accused have two lawyers, for the six-week trial before Justice Mark Cooper.
The accused all answered "not guilty" when the indictments were read at the start of the trial, alleging they acted jointly to murder Mr Bray in Timaru on February 2.
Mr Bray, 26, was allegedly set upon near Luxmoore Road and Bouverie Street in Marchwiel, Timaru and beaten up. He died when his life support was turned off four days later.
The Crown will call 92 witnesses.
The accused are John Oliver Jamieson, fisherman; Morgan Christopher James Parker, freezing worker; Simon Antony Anglem, labourer; Ashley Jordan Moffat, butcher; Nicholas John Peters, freezing worker; and Daniel Raymond Kreegher, boner. The men are aged from 17 to 20.
It took 1hr 20min to go through the process of selecting a jury for the long trial, and for the jury to choose its foreman.
Then Justice Cooper sent the jury away until tomorrow morning for the court to hear legal argument.
