Confronting footage shown to jury in bus hub stabbing trial

The site where Enere Taana-McLaren was fatally stabbed at the Dunedin bus hub. Photo: Peter McIntosh
The site where Enere Taana-McLaren was fatally stabbed at the Dunedin bus hub. Photo: Peter McIntosh
Confronting CCTV footage played to a jury shows the moment schoolboy Enere Taana-McLaren was fatally stabbed by a 13-year-old at the Dunedin bus hub.

The now 14-year-old is on trial at the High Court at Dunedin and denies murdering Enere, 16, on May 23 last year.

His name suppression continues.

Enere Taana-McLaren. Photo: supplied
Enere Taana-McLaren. Photo: supplied
The Crown showed the short, frenzied scuffle captured on CCTV, with audio.

The footage showed about one minute passed from the moment the defendant got off the bus to the pair being broken up by security.

While on the bus, the defendant could be seen pulling a white ski mask over his head.

Enere was nearby when he got off at the bus hub.

Quickly, the conflict unfolded and escalated.

The pair could be seen squaring off on the footpath and yelling at each other before the fight moved on to the road where the fatal stab was delivered.

Enere backed away, holding his side.

Witnesses could be heard speculating about whether he had been stabbed. He lay down on the footpath.

Footage of the area outside Look Sharp, near the police station, showed the defendant being confronted by two girls.

They appeared to be asking him about the attack while he yelled at them. Police ran over and detained him.

Some members of the full public gallery removed themselves before the harrowing footage was played; others who watched wept.

The accused stands in the dock before the High Court at Dunedin yesterday. Photo: Peter McIntosh
The accused stands in the dock before the High Court at Dunedin yesterday. Photo: Peter McIntosh
Earlier in the day, Crown prosecutor Richard Smith outlined the case to the jury of eight women and four men.

He said on May 23, the defendant bussed to the bus hub.

He was wearing a white ski mask, a cap sideways on top of that, a black shoulder bag and his socks pulled up.

"Perhaps because of the way [the defendant] was dressed, it appears he might’ve drawn some attention to himself," Mr Smith said.

He explained Enere yelled insults at the defendant once he was off the bus.

"The two squared off in front of one another, it appears challenging each other," Mr Smith said.

The defendant then withdrew a large kitchen knife and chased Enere while brandishing it.

As the pair got closer to each other, Enere kicked out and struck the defendant around his shoulder or head.

The Crown says the defendant swung the knife and missed before pursuing Enere, chasing him on to the road.

He swung the weapon again, this time causing a 10-12cm-deep wound which penetrated through Enere’s muscles and stomach and into his spinal tissue.

The teen was rushed to hospital but the internal damage was irreparable and he died later that day.

"That cannot be seen as an act of self defence, it’s murder," Mr Smith said.

Mr Smith explained to the jury that in his interview with police, the defendant would say it had become "routine" for him to carry a knife.

He said he had never taken it out of his bag before.

Asked what he intended to do with the knife on this occasion, he replied: "pull it out, just like wave it around or do something with it, probably make him scared or something, but I didn’t".

Mr Smith alleged there were inconsistencies between what the defendant told police and what the CCTV footage showed.

The defendant told police he knew stabbing someone was wrong.

"You could hurt that person and that person could potentially die because of the injury," he said.

Anne Stevens KC said her client had never met Enere and was acting in self-defence when he stabbed him.

She said when the defendant got off the bus, Enere allegedly told him "pull your socks down b.... boy".

The 14-year-old had PTSD from a robbery he was the victim of in 2023, and had carried a knife since then.

"[The defendant] saw Enere as a physical threat," she said.

"[He] thought he was going to be bashed by this bigger, older stranger, just as he had [been] in August 2023."

On an earlier occasion at the bus hub, the defendant showed a glimpse of the knife to someone he perceived as a bully, and they left him alone.

When Enere became aware the defendant had a knife he allegedly said "get it out, get it out, you won’t use it".

After the attack, the defendant told police: "I didn’t mean to stab the guy."

Mrs Stevens said her client was "a scared child who regularly sneaks a knife from his parents’ kitchen drawer".

"How [the defendant] used the knife was reasonable in these circumstances."

"Enere is violent, a bully, as [the defendant] perceived him to be."

Justice Robert Osborne made an order prohibiting anyone under the age of 14 from attending.

The trial is expected to last three-and-a-half-weeks.

felicity.dear@odt.co.nz