After a boozy day celebrating the opening of duck-shooting season, Garth McLachlan had a choice.
Knowing his habit of driving drunk, Rikki McCall’s wife Rachel had sent McLachlan the number of a sober driver; Mr McCall’s mother-in-law Debby Willocks had said he could sleep at her farm nearby.
In the early hours of May 8, 2022, he chose to drive home.
When he hit 33-year-old Mr McCall in Owaka Valley Rd, causing catastrophic injuries, he had a choice.
He drove on home and went to bed and was eventually woken at 4am by his partner who informed him of the tragic death.
McLachlan could have chosen to go to police, taken his punishment and rescued some shred of respect among the community.
Instead, he jumped into action, immediately pitching in to do the farm work Mr McCall would never get to, cosying up to the family and witnessing their profound grief up close.
It was what would have been expected of an innocent man.
He had been on family holidays with them and participated in the birthdays of Mr McCall’s daughters.
"You were part of our lives," Ms McCall told the Dunedin District Court at this week’s sentencing.
Police interviewed him and others who had been drinking at the "Duck Dorm" the following day.
McLachlan could have confessed.
He chose to concoct what the Crown later called "a series of lies", designed to absolve himself of blame.
It was only 10 days later that McLachlan finally folded.
But even then, the truth took some teasing out.
In his first sit-down with police, McLachlan was just another person who attended the party, someone who might be able to provide some clarity around Mr McCall’s movements on the night in question.
He told Detective Constable Greg Park he had consumed "a couple of rums", was home by 10pm and had driven his Nissan Navara ute along back roads, avoiding Owaka Valley Rd where the victim had died.
While he said he had not spoken to Mr McCall during the night, he described him as "almost like family".
His role seemed innocuous, another grief-stricken local — until others at the Duck Dorm were interviewed.
They reported McLachlan had been there until midnight and had actually been driving a Ford Courier.
After trawling through CCTV footage from commercial premises in Owaka Valley Rd, police saw a vehicle matching McLachlan’s, passing at 12.18am.
So why would he lie?
On May 18, police executed a search warrant at McLachlan’s home seizing his phone, the Ford ute and the clothing he had worn 10 days earlier.
As he accompanied police to Balclutha station for a second interview, he made an unprompted comment: "I did not even go on that road."
It was odd, since the grilling by police had not yet begun.
Emotions were running high in the small town as the family’s desperation for answers grew, so McLachlan was taken up to level one rather than the station’s busy ground floor.
He began by conceding he had made some "mistakes" in his initial statement.
But that was not all. What about the vehicle?
"I forgot I swapped over. My head wasn’t very clear because I was still very upset," McLachlan said.
"Everyone’s talking about it. Because I’m so close to the family, we’re just as upset as what they are."
And his alcohol consumption?
McLachlan now recalled drinking eight or nine beers as well as the two rums, but was adamant he was "as good as gold to drive".
"I probably would’ve blown a bag but I was, I was capable of driving ... to be quite honest if I’d had too much to drink I wouldn’t have made it home," he told Detective Sergeant John McDade.
McLachlan also now remembered talking to Mr McCall.
The only part of his story which remained unchanged was his route home; a supposed detour down Clapperton Rd rather than the more direct route along Owaka Valley Rd.
The "evolving account" was suspicious but hardly conclusive of guilt.
Det Sgt McDade ended the video-recorded interview and commented that Mr McCall’s family deserved some closure.
It was enough to break McLachlan and his 10-day charade.
"He was lying on the f...... road. I didn’t see him and ran him over. I never seen him. He was lying straight across the road. It’s going to ruin my f...... life," he said.
McLachlan agreed to go back on video for a third interview.
When it starts, he can be seen sitting with his head in his hands.
"I just left and drove home. But he was lying on the road, and I didn’t see him quick enough. I don’t know whether he’d been run over before or whether he was asleep or what, what was going on," the defendant said.
But it was not the full mea culpa police might have hoped.
McLachlan backtracked at times, telling police he had just felt "a bit of a bump" and had no idea it was a person he had hit.
He only realised it was his friend the next morning, he claimed.
"So Garth, for a whole week to ten days you’ve carried this on ... you’ve kept this to yourself," Det Sgt McDade said.
"[Exhales] whew," the transcript recorded McLachlan’s response.
Did he have anything to add?
"No, I don’t need to say any more, said enough now," he said.
It was enough for police to charge him and he appeared in court two weeks later.
Case closed.
So how was it more than two years for McLachlan to finally be sentenced?
The comments by Det Sgt McDade off camera, which prompted McLachlan’s critical disclosures, became the subject of intense legal scrutiny.
His then counsel Len Andersen KC challenged the admissibility of the video confession.
In February 2023, a hearing took place at the Dunedin District Court during which the video statements were played and those involved questioned — including McLachlan.
He implied Det Sgt McDade put him under pressure, told him he was in "deep s...", until he finally capitulated.
He told the court during the hearing that it was only at that precise point that he realised he might have been the one who killed Mr McCall.
"I was pretty gutted. I was pretty close to him and the family," he said.
"I didn’t put two and two together until about 10 days later; no idea."
Judge David Robinson said Det Sgt McDade’s unrecorded comments "were of a kind that ought to have been either recorded, or not made".
But he accepted there was no intention to surreptitiously continue an interview off camera.
McLachlan, the judge said, was neither a credible nor reliable witness.
"Such pressure as he felt was, in my assessment, the product of the flaws in his account being revealed," he said.
"His claims of being mistaken about the time he was in bed, the vehicle he used and the route taken are incredible, and ... impressed as calculated to mislead."
A jury would see the damning interview.
But it was still not enough for McLachlan to give up.
He sought leave of the Court of Appeal to continue the legal challenge.
In a decision released in December 2023, the court declined McLachlan a hearing on the basis it did not raise any novel point of law and was "unlikely to succeed".
"We acknowledge the argument there is some ambiguity in some of the statements made by Mr McLachlan, but the meaning and significance to be attributed to his statements is for the jury to decide. It is not a reason to exclude the evidence," the court ruled.
And with that, McLachlan was seemingly out of options.
But it would be six months before he finally pleaded guilty.
When sentencing finally went ahead this week the compounded trauma of brutal loss and justice delayed was on full show.
For an hour, the court heard from devastated members of Mr McCall’s family.
The vitriol in his sister Amber’s words was palpable.
‘You’ve only been looking out for yourself. The lies, deceit, selfishness and betrayal — what a gutless coward," she said.
"You’re disgusting. I wouldn’t even waste my time to spit on your grave."
Similarly, the victim’s mother Margaret, described the "two years of living hell".
"There is no forgiveness and closure. I only have immense hate and anger for you," she said.
Mr McCall’s wife said she had left the area with her two children "to escape the daily reminders of what happened ... robbed of the country upbringing Rikki wanted".
It was the aftermath of her husband’s death which continued to haunt her.
"You drove him to his own funeral with his children sitting each side of you in the cab [of a tractor]," she told the court.
"You sat at the graveside and watched, less than a metre away, as Rikki’s loved ones buried him, shovel by shovel. You made a mockery of his funeral."
He had been a keen member of the Scouts in his youth, had played rep rugby for Otago and was an accomplished bagpiper.
He left the final heart-breaking words to Mr McCall’s daughter in a letter she wrote to her dad.
"I really hope you can come back even if it’s only for a minute. With all my heart I want you back so much."
Judge Robinson’s sentencing was always going to be finely balanced.
Crown prosecutor Richard Smith argued for a sentence of imprisonment, pointing to the seriousness of the McLachlan’s conduct and his continued efforts to dodge responsibility.
In an interview with Probation, just a couple of weeks ago, he said the photo of his vehicle police retrieved on CCTV was "blurry" and stressed there was no forensic evidence found on the ute.
The judge said that, as well as McLachlan’s comments that he may have overstated his alcohol use, were "troubling".
Counsel Cate Andersen pressed for home detention and said her client had previously received incorrect legal advice which had led to the protracted not-guilty stance.
Glowing references provided to the court demonstrated his good character, she said.
Though Judge Robinson accepted McLachlan had no previous convictions, he highlighted a charge of careless driving a decade ago for which the defendant received diversion.
On that occasion police only found out about the rural crash because the landowner informed them.
Weighing up the competing factors, Judge Robinson reached an end sentence of 12 months’ imprisonment — a term that could be converted to home detention as it was less than two years.
But given the "aspects of the deception", that would be insufficient, he ruled.
McLachlan was led down the stairs to the cells, eyes down, avoiding the glare of the packed public gallery.
And still, it may not be over.
The Otago Daily Times understands McLachlan is considering appealing the sentence.
Justice delayed
• May 8, 2022: Garth McLachlan hits Rikki McCall, killing him instantly, drives home and goes to bed. He later lies to police about the vehicle he was driving, the time he left the party, the amount he drank and the route he took
• May 14: McLachlan drives a tractor — flanked by Mr McCall’s children — at his funeral
• May 18: He is interviewed again by police and eventually comes clean
• May 31: McLachlan is charged with failing to stop to ascertain injury and appears in the Dunedin District Court
• Jun 21: Defendant pleads not guilty
• Feb 24, 2023: McLachlan challenges admissibility of his video statement at Dunedin District Court
• Aug 1: Judge David Robinson rules a jury will see the video
• Dec 1: Court of Appeal declines to hear legal challenge against judge’s decision
• May 3, 2024: McLachlan pleads guilty
• Aug 21: Defendant is jailed for a year
