Makutu case: 'Divine healer' testifies

A "divine healer" says he insisted medical care be given to a lifeless-looking girl he saw in the Wainuiomata flat where the Crown alleges Janet Moses died during an exorcism.

Six women and three men have pleaded not guilty to the manslaughter of 22-year-old Ms Moses in October 2007. The Crown alleges they "cleansed" the mother of two in a makutu or curse-lifting ceremony.

In the High Court at Wellington today David McMillan said a woman he worked with asked him to go with her to the Wainuiomata flat on 12 October 2007.

They waited for about one-and-a-half hours before being allowed to enter. Young children and people looking after them were in a side room and he heard an old kuia who only he could hear saying, "How dare you not give my mokos food or drink and you are smoking."

Mr McMillan said he blessed the people with sea water and people parted so he saw for the first time a body covered with a quilt. When he blessed the body he and others saw it flinch, releasing the spirit trapped in her.

He then saw a girl on the couch, slumped and lifeless. Her eyes were swollen.

"I knew that I had to get her out of the house or she would have been the next one to go.

"I told them she has to go to the doctor or hospital and that the police had to be called."

Mr McMillan said he had been able to see spirits since he was a child and as an adult a Maori man taught him to use his power for divine healing.

His evidence is continuing.

WITNESSES BEWILDERED

Earlier today, a police iwi liaison officer Toke Gage described being called to the flat on 12 October 2007. He knew the property well because his mother had previously lived there.

There was a lot of water inside. The carpet splashed as he walked, he said.

"Wet is not the word, soaked is the word."

Other witnesses have described the water pooling around their shoes as they crossed the carpet to where the body of Ms Moses lay on a soaking wet bed in the lounge,

Mr Gage said he knew some of the people who were at the house.

Mr Gage said he spoke to one of the accused men at the scene and he seemed relieved to talk about what had happened.

"It had been such a gruelling day for them all," Mr Gage said.

"There was some relief. They had gone through such trauma. They were shocked to be quite honest. They were shocked and in a state of bewilderment. They were lost."

Mr Gage said he understood an exorcism had taken place but he said a witness later in the trial was better qualified to define the word "makutu" which has been used in relation to Ms Moses.

CHANTING AND PRAYER

In the High Court at Wellington yesterday, the Crown alleged that people chanted and prayed, that Ms Moses' eyes were held open while water was poured into them, and water was poured into her mouth, causing her death from drowning.

People tried to resuscitate her but, when that failed, the group continued the ceremony on a 14-year-old girl who was thought to have caught the illness from Ms Moses. The girl was also doused with water and her eyes were gouged, prosecutor Kate Feltham said.

At an outsider's insistence the girl was taken to hospital with swollen eyes oozing blood, with scratches and bruises, and with low oxygen levels consistent with inhaling water or vomit.

Speaking for all 10 accused, defence lawyer Mike Antunovic said what took place was an intense and powerful experience. The participants wanted to help Ms Moses and the girl overcome the curse, or Maori makutu. They thought they were doing what Ms Moses and the girl wanted.

But Ms Feltham said Ms Moses did not consent to the process inflicted on her and force was used to overcome her resistance.

The accused did not know what they were doing but continued anyway. Ms Moses' partner was repeatedly turned away from the flat in the days before her death and young men stood guard outside to prevent anyone entering.

On the final day of the ritual about 20 people, mostly children, were held in a bedroom while the process continued in the lounge.

Police found Ms Moses' body in a room where the carpet squelched with water and a hole had been poked in the kitchen floor to let water drain.

Ms Feltham said a large group had discussed Ms Moses' state of mind at a hui about six days before she died. A kaumatua said an evil spirit had possessed her and linked it to the theft of a concrete lion statue from the Greytown Hotel.

The elder believed the statue was a historic taonga but the jury would hear it was bought new at an auction in the 1990s.

A convoy of cars took the lion back and prayers were said upon its return.

The kaumatua said two bad demons had left Ms Moses and she should be watched and left to heal herself, Ms Feltham told the court.

A Tainui kaumatua, Tui Adams, who advised the late Maori queen, is expected to tell the jury that consulting the kaumatua and a blessing with water were appropriate, but what followed was ill-conceived and not part of any traditional or cultural ceremony he knew.

A psychiatrist will give evidence that descriptions of Ms Moses' behaviour strongly suggested an underlying psychological or psychiatric disorder.

The trial is expected to last four to six weeks.

THE CHARGES

Three men and six women are charged with manslaughter. The Crown alleges they "cleansed" Janet Moses, a disturbed 22-year-old mother of two, ending with her death on October 12, 2007, at Wainuiomata.

One of the women and a 10th person, a man, are also charged with cruelty to a 14-year-old girl. The names of the accused are suppressed in the meantime. They have pleaded not guilty.

The defence says the accused wanted to help Ms Moses and the girl remove a makutu or curse. They thought they were doing what the two wanted.

- with NZPA