Nineteen-year-old Birch had been consuming “scorching stuff”, or Johnnie Walker purple label and Jim Beam, through the day and night with Nicoll, whānau, and associates and went on to develop into “very drunk” the night time he died.
He received into two fights; one along with his brother, Thomas, and one other with the defendant’s brother, Raymond “Porky” Kahia after allegedly peering into a rest room window of a Black Energy home.
He was additionally seen stumbling, slurring his phrases, yelling Mongrel Mob gang slogans, and assaulting Nicoll as they walked residence.
Defence counsel Rob Stevens grilled Nicoll about her preliminary assertion that Tareha stabbed Birch and never Kahia.
He submitted that she had repeated Tareha’s title so many occasions that the primary officer to the scene thought Birch’s title was Kansas.
“The Constable initially thought that Wiremu’s title was Kansas as a result of she requested him, ‘Kansas the place are you hurting?’
“Do you recall that?” Stevens requested.
“No,” Nicoll replied.
Stevens put to her that she did understand it was Tareha who stabbed him.
“He didn’t stab him, she replied. “I didn’t see Kansas leap out of the automobile.
“I apologise for all that, it wasn’t true,” Nicoll replied.
“It was within the warmth of the second, the scenario I used to be in. They have been the one two those who I knew, so I used to be simply yeah, saying something.”
When Stevens requested her about Kansas pushing her twice after he jumped out of the automobile, Nicoll mentioned it was all “a lie”.
“It’s a lie as a result of I didn’t see that occur. I didn’t see Kansas do this.”
Stevens additionally requested about Fb messages she despatched mates straight after the stabbing telling them that Tareha had stabbed Birch, earlier than sending messages to Tareha;
“You f****** killed him, c***”, and “you f****** wait c*** I’m going to kill you”.
Nonetheless, she admitted being in common contact with Tareha between February and June 2013, whereas Birch was in jail, however mentioned she couldn’t keep in mind texting him after Birch was killed.
Nicoll additionally denied being pushed, or clotheslined [hit with an extended arm], by Tareha and falling backward and hitting her head on the gutter.
Stevens put to her that she and Tareha have been speaking inside weeks of Birch’s loss of life and that she had deleted all her Fb messages with him.
Nicoll admitted deleting them within the final two years, however mentioned she was both “drunk or abusing him”.
She “couldn’t keep in mind” Tareha getting in contact along with her 11 days after Birch’s loss of life or holding in contact till she went into the police station and adjusted her assertion about his involvement on June 18, 2014.
She’d initially instructed police that she ran as much as him within the automobile when it arrived however he received out and shoved her violently, sending her backward onto the bottom.
She modified her story to say Tareha stayed within the automobile the entire time and didn’t assault her.
“I went in to vary my story as a result of I had lied,” she mentioned. “And needed to repair what I mentioned… for my reality. Not for Kansas or anybody else.”
“You modified your story about what Kansas had finished,” Stevens mentioned.
“I went in to vary it as a result of it’s the reality,” she replied.
She admitted speaking to Tareha earlier than and through the second trial, however she couldn’t recall what about.
“You weren’t speaking in regards to the climate, have been you,” Stevens requested, to which she replied, “No”.
Stevens put to her that she was so drunk and excessive on medication round that point that she will be able to’t precisely keep in mind what occurred that night time, so had been counting on Tareha.
“I don’t care what Kansas says. I’m not counting on Kansas to say something.”
Requested by Stevens if she had contacted Tareha previous to this trial, Nicoll mentioned she hadn’t.
“I’ve my infants to fret about, I don’t discuss to no person.”
In re-examination from crown solicitor Chris Macklin about why she messaged folks saying Tareha killed Birch, Nicoll mentioned, “I don’t do not forget that”.
“I used to be in all probability drunk.”
Earlier, Nicoll instructed Macklin she first met Tareha on social media, earlier than she received pregnant along with her and Birch’s daughter.
They later had a “sexual relationship however not a relationship”, she mentioned.
She couldn’t recall how previous she was or for a way lengthy it lasted however confirmed she wasn’t with Wiremu on the time and it was earlier than he died.
Nicoll added that they have been damaged up on the time as Birch had “given me a hiding in Napier and that’s after I went out alone”.
By the point of his loss of life, Birch had been launched from jail and he’d moved again to Taupō and visited her, “and yeah we type of received again collectively”.
The trial continues.
Belinda Feek is an Open Justice reporter primarily based in Waikato. She has labored at NZME for 9 years and has been a journalist for 20.
