The death of Southland man Dale Watene was a "terrible accident", a lawyer for his accused killer says.
Photo: Supplied / Police
Sandy Graham is on trial in the High Court at Invercargill for the murder of Watene on 16 April 2020.
George Hyde is accused of being an accessory after the fact for helping dispose of the body.
Both deny the charges.
Watene went missing from the small forestry town of Ōtautau on 16 April 2020 and was found in a shallow grave in nearby Longwood Forest about a month later.
The Crown told the jury its case was built on a series of six events - Graham obtaining a firearm; Graham and Watene getting their vehicle stuck in Longwood Forest on 16 April and returning to her home after getting help from others; his death that night; Graham contacting Hyde for help; the disposal of the body and the firearm being returned to its original owner but with Watene's blood on it.
Prosecutor Riki Donnelly said the shallow gravesite where Watene was found had bricks placed on top.
Those bricks matched similar ones at Hyde's home and contained metal flashing that was consistent with that at the same address.
The material was placed on the grave in an attempt to hide the fact the site had been freshly dug up, Donnelly said.
Graham and Hyde gave written and recorded video statements to police in the days following Watene's disappearance.
Graham claimed the last time she saw Watene alive was when he left her address on the night of 16 April to go to get more beer, the crown said.
Hyde claimed he had no knowledge of Watene's whereabouts.
In August, following the discovery of Watene's body, Hyde spoke to officers again.
On that occasion his account was completely different, Donnelly told the jury.
He spoke about getting a phone call from Graham on the night of 16 April, her being upset and asking Hyde to come to her home.
Hyde told police Graham had told him she and Watene got into a fight, he had beaten her up, threatened to kill himself and had killed himself, Donnelly said.
He admitted to helping dispose of Watene's body as he did not want Graham to get into trouble for having a firearm.
Hyde's lawyer, Fiona Guy Kidd, told the jury her client could only be guilty of being an accessory to murder if Graham was found guilty and if it was proven he had believed Watene's death was murder.
One of Graham's lawyers, Sarah Saunderson-Warner, said her client admitted lying about what occurred at her home on the night of 16 April, but Watene's death was not murder.
"When he was shot it was neither on purpose, nor was it with murderous intent. What occurred in that hallway was a terrible accident that had tragic consequences," she told the jury.
"The issue is not whether Ms Graham was involved but rather how Mr Watene died, what occurred in those immediate minutes and seconds before that firearm was discharged into the hallway, and why.
"In the aftermath of that terrible accident Ms Graham lied... after Mr Watene's death she told people he went to get beers and never came back. Now I want to be quite clear with you from the get-go, that that is not the defence - it's not true."
The trial is expected to take three to four weeks.