A Hungarian tourist used a banjo to beat a 69-year-old man before ramming the broken-off neck down his throat, a jury in the High Court at Auckland was told today.
Ferdinand Ambach, 32, a dive master in Hungary, has pleaded not guilty to murdering Ronald Brown in Onehunga, Auckland.
The jury was sworn in this morning and this afternoon was taken by bus and shown several premises where the accused went on the night of the incident - an internet cafe, a bar, a liquor store and Mr Brown's flat.
Ambach was led around the premises in handcuffs, flanked by three security guards. Traffic in Onehunga was brought to a standstill as the convoy of 10 vehicles made its way through.
Mr Brown's battered body was found at his flat in the early hours of December 7, 2007. He died three days later in hospital after his life support was switched off.
The jury, of three men and nine women, was told by Crown prosecutor Nick Williams that Mr Brown was assaulted with a 2.7kg banjo. He was struck to the head with a number of blows.
The accused allegedly met Mr Brown in 306 Bar in Onehunga, before he went back to his flat.
Mr Williams told the jury there was a misunderstanding between the men, with Mr Brown wrongly thinking Ambach was gay.
A heated argument broke out between them, where Ambach is accused of severely beating Mr Brown with a banjo about the head.
Mr Brown was struck five times before Ambach rammed the broken-off neck of the banjo down Mr Brown's throat.
When police arrived on the scene, they found Mr Brown badly injured and Ambach yelling in Hungarian. He was throwing furniture through an upstairs window and on to the lawn.
Ambach told police in an interview he could only remember parts of what happened that night.
Mr Williams told the jury they would have to decide whether Ambach's actions caused Mr Brown injury, whether he knew those injuries would cause death, and whether he was reckless.
"The accused didn't just hit him once to disable him. He hit him again and again and again in the head with a solid metal object," Mr Williams said.
The court was told 65 witnesses would be called throughout the trial, which was expected to last three weeks.
The witnesses would include family and friends of Mr Brown, the owner of an internet cafe where the accused went on the night, the owner of the Onehunga liquor centre where the accused and Mr Brown bought alcohol, and neighbours who saw and heard things that night.
The jury was told Mr Brown suffered facial bruising, a skull fracture and multiple bruises consistent with blunt force trauma. He died as a result of head injuries.
Peter Kaye, defending Ambach, said the jury must look at various issues , including whether the accused's actions were intentional or voluntary, and whether he had a "sudden and temporary loss of self control".
