The man accused of murdering his girlfriend had a history of abusing her, a court has heard.
Turiarangi Tai, on trial in the High Court in Auckland for the murder of Chozyn Koroheke. Photo: RNZ / Laura Tupou
Turiarangi Tai is on trial at the High Court in Auckland where he's denied murdering 22-year-old Chozyn Koroheke but admitted to illegally having the gun that killed her.
Chozyn Koroheke, a mother of two, was shot and killed in her Pakuranga home last April.
Police searched for Mr Tai, Ms Koroheke boyfriend, who handed himself in after nearly two weeks.
Chozyn Koroheke died after she was shot. Photo: Supplied / NZ Police
Today, prosecutor Mark Williams opened the Crown's case, alleging Mr Tai deliberately shot Ms Koroheke with a 12 gauge double-barrelled shotgun.
"He loaded the fire arm, disengaged the safety catch, put his finger inside the trigger guard on the shotgun and deliberately pulled the trigger and fired the shotgun at Chozyn with a clear intention to kill her, or at the very least injure her, and being reckless in whether she died or not."
Mr Williams said Mr Tai and Ms Koroheke had a short relationship but it wasn't the first time Mr Tai had been violent towards Ms Koroheke.
There had been an incident a week earlier, he said.
"It was on this occasion, the Crown say, that Mr Tai had assaulted Chozyn in the head with a rock. He'd also stabbed her on another occasion in the month prior to that."
He had also threatened to shoot her before, he said.
Mr Williams said earlier on 4 April, Mr Tai showed Ms Koroheke's brother and his then-girlfriend an unloaded shotgun.
Mr Williams told the jury Mr Tai and Ms Koroheke had also been arguing that day and Mr Tai later packed up his car saying he was leaving, which was not unusual.
He asked Ms Koroheke for petrol money but she said no.
He then drove up the long driveway but turned around and drove back to the house. He came inside, armed with the shotgun.
At the time Ms Koroheke and her brother's then girlfriend were in her brother's room, Mr Williams said.
Mr Tai forced his way into the bedroom with the loaded shotgun, aimed it at Ms Koroheke's head, hit her on the head with the barrel and then aimed at the right side of her body, he said.
She was shot at close range, 10 to 50 centimetres away from her, he said.
Mr Williams said it was only a matter of time until she died at her home.
Ms Koroheke's brother and then-girlfriend phoned the ambulance but Mr Tai drove off before they arrived, he said.
Mr Tai went to the petrol station to buy petrol, drinks, cigarettes, and a lighter, using Ms Koroheke's debit card.
The Crown argued Mr Tai killed Ms Koroheke out of anger.
But Mr Tai's lawyer, Peter Kaye, told the jury to consider the charge of manslaughter while listening to evidence.
"There's no argument about who had the gun. There's no argument about it discharging. There's no argument, no issue about whether it caused death," Mr Kaye said.
The issue at hand was whether Mr Tai intended to kill Ms Koroheke, he said.
A woman, with name suppression, was also on trial, and has denied a charge relating to helping Mr Tai after the murder.
The trial is set down for four weeks.
