Murder accused changed clothes at a mate's house

A man accused of murdering a 14-year-old South Auckland cannabis dealer got rid of his dirty clothes at a friend's house, a jury was told today.

Joseph Barter, 22, was giving evidence from Sydney by video in the High Court at Auckland in the trial of Daniel Bobby Tumata, 25, and Nathan Tuiti Reo Mutunga Williams, 25.

They are jointly charged with murdering John Hapeta on August 12 last year. Tumata, Williams and a 17-year-old male, who has name suppression, are also accused of assault with intent to rob.

Tumata changed his plea and pleaded guilty to this charge on Tuesday, and will be sentenced later.

Mr Barter said Tumata came to see him at his house on the night of the killing.

"He was a bit dirty and shaken up and he had a gash on his finger," Mr Barter said.

"He told me Nate (Williams) had a hammer and he'd swung it over the top and hit someone."

Later that night, Williams came to his house asking for Tumata.

Crown prosecutor Ross Burns asked Mr Barter what state Williams was in.

Williams smelt like he had just had a shower, the jury was told.

Shane Tait, defending Tumata, asked Mr Barter if he'd been told he would be arrested if he came back to New Zealand.

He said "no".

Mr Tait asked Mr Barter if Tumata asked him for help.

"I gave him some clean clothes. He asked for a rubbish bag and I threw the dirty clothes away," Mr Barter said.

"When police came round to ask them about it you told them lies?" Mr Tait asked Mr Barter.

"I don't think so," he replied.

"I've nothing to hide. I don't have nothing to do with it," Mr Barter said.

But Mr Tait said Mr Barter had told police that Tumata had taken his dirty clothing with him and you'd never seen them again.

"You bundled the clothes up and put them in a Woollies bag and put them in the rubbish," Mr Tait said.

Mr Barter confirmed he had changed his statement three days later.

Marie Dyhrberg, representing Williams, asked Mr Barter whether the injury to Tumata's left index finger was bleeding a lot.

Mr Barter said he gave Tumata a rag and a plaster to stop the bleeding.

Ms Dyhrberg asked Mr Barter if Tumata was the only person who came to his house after 9.30pm on the night of August 12.

He said no, as he had told the court earlier that Williams had come to his house looking for Tumata.

But Mr Barter agreed when cross-examined by Ms Dyhrberg that the only person who had told him about being involved in the robbery at Mr Hapeta's house was Tumata.

The Crown says Mr Hapeta died after two men armed with a gun and a hammer gatecrashed a birthday party at the family home in Weymouth, south of Auckland.

Dressed in black with bandanas covering their faces, they grabbed him and demanded drugs.

When he said he didn't have any, he was hit on the back of the head with a hammer.

The Crown alleges he was killed because he failed to make payments on an airgun bought from another boy, who wanted to be paid in cannabis.

Williams struck the fatal blow but Tumata was also liable for murder by actively assisting him, the Crown said.

- NZPA