Plea for justice after death

BY BLAIR ENSOR AND MAIKE VAN DER HEIDE

Friends and family of Blenheim man Matt Heagney, who was fatally injured in or outside Shapeshifters bar, have made an emotive plea for justice to be served.

This morning about 20 of his friends gathered outside the bar in a show of support for the Heagney family and as a message they want someone to be held accountable for his death.

A close friend of Mr Heagney, Scott McDermid, said he was scared that someone would "get a slap on the wrist for it and that would be it".

In 2006, two Blenheim bouncers charged with manslaughter after the death of a man outside the former Copper Bock bar were acquitted by a jury.

In the same year, a Napier bouncer was acquitted of murder and manslaughter in relation to a man who died after being punched and kicked outside a nightclub in 2005.

"No-one has got any faith that the appropriate justice is going to come about. People are scared it's going to get swept under the mat," Mr McDermid said.

This morning Blenheim police senior sergeant Ciaran Sloan said the investigation was progressing and the matter was now in the police Christchurch legal department for opinion.

The call comes as Shapeshifters co-owner Julian Campbell announced plans to oust his business partner Kevin King in the wake of the late night incident outside the bar on August 23.

It is understood Mr Heagney was leaving the bar when he was injured. He died a short time later in Wairau Hospital.

Mr Campbell said the bar would not be closed for financial reasons, although the bar's takings had halved since Mr Heagney's death and staff had been verbally threatened.

He told The Marlborough Express that Mr King has agreed to a draft agreement to hand over sole ownership to him at the cost of about $130,000.

Mr Campbell said he had earlier tried to buy Mr King's shares but Mr King refused. Both own equal shares in the business.

It is understood Mr King is under investigation in connection with the incident.

Mr McDermid said in his opinion Mr King's attitude since the incident appeared to be "a little too light-hearted".

"Matt's six feet under ground and there's a part owner (Kevin King) in the bar acting as if nothing is happening."

Mr Heagney's girlfriend of almost 2½ years, Ema Arnold said it was disrespectful of the owners to keep the bar open. She said she did not understand how bar staff could still work there after Mr Heagney's incident.

"It's a hard reminder and I feel like it's disrespectful as well."

Miss Arnold and her friends now avoided the bar: "I don't think I will ever go up there again."

"Every single day it's so hard with Matt not here, it's so quiet ... we had plans and everything and now it's all gone."

Miss Arnold said she was upstairs at the bar when she received a text message from Mr Heagney, who was downstairs, to say he was leaving. She did not know what happened next until she got home and he was not there.

Mr Heagney's father, Pat, said he wanted the bar closed, claiming that it was a known trouble spot before his son's death. "My son was only in the bar for seven minutes, he was walking out, he wasn't causing one iota of problem."

"He was just walking out, what right have they got to do that to him?

"The guy [Kevin King] is still working there, it just seems crazy legislation. Ideally you should be standing a person down that's under investigation, shouldn't you?"

Mr Campbell described Mr King as a "shadow" hanging over the bar, which would be lifted if ties were severed.

"I'm not going to work with him.

"He's legally entitled to go where he likes, when he likes because he is still a 50 per cent owner and there is nothing we can do to stop this until it changes."

Mr Campbell planned to rebrand Shapeshifters when funds allowed.

He said staff had received threats from the public, "usually from disaffected people who have been asked to leave" and comments were written on the blackboard outside the bar.

Threats had subsided since the incident, but a malicious message was left on Mr Campbell's answer machine early on Monday morning, which had been referred to police.

Meanwhile, Mr Heagney and his wife, Pam, visited Sensing Murder psychic Sue Nicholson in Wellington, who Mr Heagney said gave an accurate, very detailed account of what happened to Matt.

The psychic was in contact with Matt, he said. "He said no-one will listen to me because I'm talking from my grave and I didn't do anything wrong. No one's going to listen to me."

The meeting had been comforting for the family, Mr Heagney said.

- The Marlborough Express