Angela Blackmoore was found murdered in her Christchurch home in 1995. Photo: Supplied / NZ Police
The Crown has told the court that Christchurch woman Angela Blackmoore was murdered in 1995 because an associate saw an opportunity to gain access to properties she part-owned.
The High Court trial of David Hawken and Rebecca Wright-Meldrum on charges of murdering Blackmoore got underway this morning.
A third person, Jeremy Powell, pleaded guilty to the 21-year-old's murder in 2020.
Blackmoore was bludgeoned and stabbed 39 times in her Wainoni home while her two-year-old son slept in a nearby room.
Hawken and Wright-Meldrum have pleaded not guilty to charges of murdering Blackmoore.
Today Crown Prosecutor Mitchell McClenaghan said the Crown's view was that Hawken arranged for Powell and Wright-Meldrum to murder Blackmoore with the promise of $10,000.
McClenaghan said Hawken had been assisting Blackmoore's estranged husband, William Blackmoore, to sort out issues around two properties that the Blackmoores owned.
Hawken had been acting as a proxy with the bank for Blackmoore, and had been communicating with Angela Blackmoore about her ownership of the properties.
The Blackmoore's had fallen behind in the mortgage payments.
McClenaghan said Hawken was living in one of the properties in Cashel Street, and working from it, and had said he wanted to take over the mortgage payments.
He said Hawken also had a number of other business plans which he wanted to get loans to finance.
However, McClenaghan said Hawken had financial issues, including being heavily in debt, being on a sickness benefit, and having been told an ACC claim he hoped for had been declined.
He said Hawken wanted to remove Angela from the picture, so he could get control of the properties and then use them as assets to get loans. McClenaghan said that was exactly what Hawken attempted to do within two weeks of Blackmoore's death.
McClenaghan said Hawken had offered Powell and Wright-Meldrum $10,000 to carry out the murder but never paid them, despite repeated requests from Powell.
The trial is to take around five weeks, and around 50 witnesses will be called.