Work of private investigators helped undo prosecution's case

NZPA | 9th February 2010

A compensation claim is likely after murder charges were yesterday dropped against a Napier man who spent 16 months in jail, his lawyer says.

Zion Hiona King, 48, a former food-processing worker, had been accused of fatally stabbing Chattrice Maihi-Carroll, 46, in her home during January 2008.

The first trial was aborted last June after two days, with no evidence being heard and Justice Clifford declaring a mistrial.

In the High Court at Napier yesterday, Justice Denis Clifford granted a defence application for a discharge. After the hearing, Mr King's lawyer, Peter Williams QC, said the work of private investigators had helped undo the case against Mr King.

"I believe it was not a strong case to begin with," he said.

"And, over a period of time, our investigators discovered further evidence which tended to confirm the account that the accused had given to police when he was interviewed.

"We had a group of witnesses who confirmed what the accused had said. Namely, that he learnt from police about the murder when he went back home around the middle of the day, and when he went back to work he told people at work about it."

Mr Williams said conflicts between various witnesses' statements were not always black and white, but there had been a number of points on which accounts differed.

"Matters such as what he was wearing at the time," he said.

"In the morning, some of the witnesses said he was wearing the (work) overalls that were supplied clean every day. Whereas we were able to establish that the overalls had arrived late that day and he was actually wearing an apron.

"One witness said he had a bandage on his hand. Well, he was actually photographed on one of those (security) videos on the way to work (when) he called into a garage on the way to work to buy a pie. And it was clear there was no bandage."

Mr Williams had also recruited a scientist to pursue DNA evidence and consulted with Bond University on the Gold Coast.

After his arrest, Mr King spent 18 months in Hawke's Bay Prison and Auckland's Paremoremo Prison before being granted bail last July.

Mr Williams said compensation would be investigated "as soon as things settle down a bit".

"But I think a claim will be made," Mr Williams said.

"It's been a very stressful period and the stress won't go away immediately. It's been very disruptive of Mr King's life.

"At the time, he was just settling down nicely. And then suddenly this whole thing erupted and obviously he's been put through the mill."