Kahia then emerged and embraced relieved whānau earlier than making his method dwelling.
The 41-year-old had already been on the centre of two homicide trials; in 2014 and 2019. His newest was the second retrial.
‘Who killed Wiremu Birch?’
The jury needed to decipher who the individual was seen lunging in the direction of Birch thrice at midnight and stabbing him throughout a road battle within the early hours of October 11, 2013.
Whereas the Crown alleged Kahia was the killer, the defence stated Kahia was harmless, and as a substitute claimed the individual accountable was Kansas Tareha, who advised the courtroom final week, “I’m a gangster. I can get any lady I would like”.
The jury heard from 40 witnesses, however a key witness was Birch’s girlfriend, Waimarama Nicoll, who the defence claimed was coerced into altering her story 12 months later by Tareha over an alleged assault by him on her on the scene.
The day earlier than his dying, 19-year-old Birch had been consuming all through the day and into the night with Nicoll, whānau and associates and went on to develop into “very drunk”.
He acquired into two fights; one along with his brother, Thomas, and one other with the defendant’s brother, Raymond “Porky” Kahia.
He was additionally seen stumbling, slurring his phrases, and yelling Mongrel Mob gang slogans.
It was after the primary battle and when Birch and Nicoll turned up on Hinekura St on the home of her cousin, who was additionally president of the Mongrel Mob on the time, that bother began.
Birch questioned over to the again property of a neighbour to urinate. The occupants have been Black Energy and claimed Birch was peering in by way of a rest room window.
Shortly after a battle started between Birch and Porky Kahia on Hinemoa St.
It was finally damaged up and agreed that it will get sorted out the following morning, nevertheless, it left girls at Hinemoa St unnerved, so the Kahia brothers, Tareha, and a fourth man, Lee Tawaka, went for a drive to examine who was round.
The group then got here throughout Birch and Nicoll on Hinekura St, pulled over, and Porky Kahia started combating with Birch.
He was then stabbed by someone thrice and died on the scene.
‘The onus is on the crown’
Summing up the case yesterday, Justice Timothy Brewer stated because the defendant alleges Tareha was the killer, the onus was on the Crown to show that he wasn’t the killer.
If the Crown persuaded the jury that Tareha wasn’t the stabber, they then needed to show past cheap doubt that Hendrix Kahia was the one with the knife.
In his closing, Crown prosecutor Chris Macklin had advised the jury there have been 4 individuals within the automotive they usually knew Porky Kahia wasn’t the killer, and neither was Tawaka.
He stated Nicoll initially blamed Tareha as he was the one one which she actually knew.
Her companion and father of their child was mendacity wounded on the highway, she and Tareha had phrases, and he yelled a Black Energy slogan as he drove off.
She initially advised the primary officer to the scene that every one 4 males stabbed Birch after which stated Tareha’s title so many instances the officer thought that was Birch’s title.
Macklin stated inside a short while she didn’t repeat the allegation, and didn’t point out Tareha in an interview filmed with police on the station a few hours later.
“So Mr Macklin says how may something have presumably modified inside that brief interval such that Waimarama Nicoll is shielding the killer of her companion and father of her baby.
“Mr Macklin says that doesn’t make sense … [but] you do have the proof of Mr Tareha which has been constant that he’s not the stabber.”
Nonetheless, Corridor submitted that there was proof that pointed to Tareha, and particularly, she referred not solely to what Waimarama Nicoll stated however to the proof that Tareha was a “wannabe gangster, that he had the 7 and 9 tattooed on his leg and he shouted the gang slogan as they left”.
There was additionally proof that Tareha was the one within the automotive that stated, “I poked him”, and Tawaka advised him to “shut up”.
Tareha additionally had time to affect Nicoll when she was texting, abusing, and blaming him for stabbing Birch.
“So he knew that he was going to be blamed because the killer and so there was the chance to affect,” the decide stated.
Nicoll couldn’t be trusted as she and Tareha had a relationship “such that they have been colluding and contacting one another in breach of their requirement that they not accomplish that”.
The decide continued summing up the defence case saying they by no means revealed they have been having an off-the-cuff sexual affair, and Tareha needed immunity to present proof in opposition to Kahia.
Nicoll additionally went to police in October 2014 and adjusted her assertion to say that Tareha didn’t assault her after she approached him at his automotive on the stabbing scene.
“Ms Corridor says if that type of collusion or deceit shouldn’t be sufficient for you, take a look at the textual content messages.
“By the point police got here to see Mr Tareha he knew he was in serious trouble and being accused of this killing needed to discover a method out of it, and it was not simply to disclaim however to actively blame another person, the patched Black Energy member Mr Kahia.”
There was additionally the testimony of the only defence witness who stated Tareha had advised him that he had stabbed somebody in Taupō and pushed the automotive for it.
“Ms Corridor says that may solely relate to the stabbing of Mr Birch.”
Belinda Feek is an Open Justice reporter based mostly in Waikato. She has labored at NZME for 9 years and has been a journalist for 20.
