Kahui 'under pressure, about to explode' court told

JOHN SELKIRK/The Dominion Post

ON TRIAL: Chris Kahui in the dock during his trial at the High Court in Auckland. He is charged with murdering his twin sons in 2006.

JOHN SELKIRK/The Dominion Post

UNDER SCRUTINY: Macsyna King in the dock in the Chris Kahui trial at the Auckland High Court.

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Murder accused Chris Kahui was a man under pressure and about to explode, an Auckland court has been told.

Kahui did not snap suddenly, this "lovely, passive person" snapped after a steady build up of pressure over several months, Crown lawyer Simon Moore said.

His comments came as he concluded his summing up in the trial of Kahui, 22, for the murder of his three-month-old twin sons, Chris and Cru, in June, 2006.

The twins were born 11 weeks premature

"Think of all the pressure of one premature baby and double that," he said.

"Then [add to that] bringing the twins into the house and the lack of sleep that brings."

The addition of the twins meant there were now four children living in their Mangere house under the age of 13 months, there were financial pressures, and his own mother was critically ill in hospital.

Further, there was some doubt as to whether he was the farther of the twins.

"Then we go to the Sunday night...It's a litmus test as to how the accused was," he said.

"It shows he was not coping."

After being left to care for the twins alone for less than 12 hours, he drove the 20 to 30 minutes it takes to get to his father Banjo Kahui's Clendon house, where Ms King was taking "time out".

It was late at night and she was sound asleep on a mattress on the floor.

Kahui shook her awake, swore at her and told her to "get her arse home" and look after the babies.

Ms King told him to "get his own arse" back there and for him to look after the twins.

The next day, his sister, Tracey Still, "blows him up" about the state of his house and his father was nagging him about why Ms King was not at home looking after her babies.

He went outside for a smoke with the others but had to leave them when toddler Shayne came to the glass door and "Dadda, Dadda".

Kahui picked him up and went into the lounge, kicking the door closed with his foot.

It was just after this that Kahui is in the nursery alone with the babies for about three minutes.

Ample time, Mr Moore said, to hurt the babies and return the room to normal.

Then baby Cru stopped breathing and Kahui administered CPR but chose not to call an ambulance or seek medical help.

He refused to go with Ms King and the babies to hospital and when she phoned him seven times to tell him the babies were critical and were "not going to make it", he said "whatever" and carried on playing the PlayStation.

- © Fairfax NZ News