‘All for one, and one for all’ – murder accused was in on plot, Crown says

The woman accused of the kidnapping, torture and murder of a teenager was one of three people who took part in a murder plot that was “all for one, and one for all”, the Crown says.

The 21-year-old, who has name suppression, has denied charges of kidnapping and murdering 17-year-old Dimetrius Pairama and is on trial at the High Court in Auckland.

She is the third person to go to trial. The other two, Toko (Ashley) Shane Rei Winter and Kerry Te Amo, have been convicted and sentenced for their roles.

The Crown says all three kidnapped Pairama and subjected her to a beating inside an abandoned Māngere state house on July 7, 2018.

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The woman’s lawyers say while the then 16-year-old took part in the assaults, she had no intention to kill Pairama.

In her closing address to the jurors on Tuesday, Crown prosecutor Claire Robertson said the accused, Winter, Te Amo, a 14-year-old and Pairama all headed to an abandoned state house on Buckland Rd after a night hanging out in town.

The plan was to have something to eat, some drinks and a smoke.

But Robertson said once the group were inside the house, the mood changed.

Robertson said the accused, Winter and Te Amo all took turns beating Pairama. At one point the accused helped tie Pairama to a chair before she and Winter shaved and cut her hair.

Winter found an aerosol can, which, together with the accused’s cigarette lighter, was used as a makeshift blow-torch on Pairama’s genitals and chest.

“[The accused] did nothing at all to stop the torturing, to stop the hanging,” Robertson said.

After more beatings, Pairama was untied and allowed to lie on the floor, naked beneath a sheet.

“Ms Winter asked Ms Pairama how she wanted to die. She was given a choice which was really no choice at all.”

Robertson said that choice was one of being stabbed to death or being hanged.

“Any doubts harboured by [the accused] were short-lived. By the end of the discussion she was all for it. Te Amo and [the accused] had signed on to Winter’s plan… they were all in it together, very much so… it was all for one, and one for all.”

Robertson said the Crown did not have to prove motive but said there was evidence the accused believed Pairama had posted comments about her on Facebook and she was angry.

Robertson said there was evidence the accused had initially been hesitant but when the Facebook comments were discussed the accused became “keen” on following Winter’s plan through to the end.

Robertson said he accused helped Te Amo prepare sheets as a makeshift rope and noose. She, together with Winter and Te Amo had also gone outside to search for a spade to dig a grave.

Robertson said both actions showed the accused knew Pairama was going to be murdered.

“Both [the accused and Te Amo] were keen on killing Ms Pairama and jumped on the bandwagon. The Crown says [the accused] had no reservations about killing her supposed best friend. She believed ‘the bitch’ deserved to die.”

Robertson said the Crown’s star witness, the 14-year-old, was posted as a lookout in the living room while the accused, along with Winter and Te Amo, took Pairama into the hallway.

“[The accused] knew what was happening, she acted with purpose. She was there to help Ms Winter and Mr Te Amo to see it through… She was no mere bystander to Ms Winter’s deranged plan. The three of them were all in it together, from beginning to end.”

Robertson said what happened in the aftermath is also consistent with the three acting together. They left the house together and spent the rest of the day together.

They met up with a friend, who told the court the accused said she had murdered somebody. When the witness expressed disbelief, the accused took her back to Buckland Rd and showed her Dimetrius’ body, wrapped in sheets and rubbish bags, hidden in an upturned drum in the backyard.

“[The accused] told her Ms Pairama deserved to die,” Robertson said.

Shortly afterwards the accused and the star witness bumped into an associate at McDonald’s. Robertson said the associate overheard the tail end of a conversation where the accused said “we killed that bitch”.

“That is hardly, you might think, an endearing way to refer to your best friend.”

Robertson also addressed the defence’s expert evidence from Dr Valerie McGinn, a neuropsychologist and world-renowned expert in foetal alcohol spectrum disorder (FASD).

“FASD is not a defence to either charge,” Robertson said.

The jurors are due to hear a closing address from the woman’s lawyers later on Tuesday before Justice Kiri Tahana sums up the case on Wednesday and they retire to consider their verdicts.