Witness in David Benbow murder trial undermines accused’s account of his whereabouts

A crucial witness in the David Benbow murder trial has given evidence undermining his account of what happened the day he allegedly shot his best mate Michael McGrath.

Benbow, 54, is on trial in the High Court in Christchurch for murdering his childhood friend McGrath, 49, on May 22, 2017.

It’s alleged he shot McGrath after inviting him to his house at Candys Rd, Halswell, to help shift railway sleepers. Benbow’s rifle and McGrath’s body have never been found.

McGrath and Benbow’s former partner Joanne Green had started a relationship, which Benbow found out about after his daughter saw Green and McGrath kissing. Benbow’s account of May 22, 2017, is that McGrath did not turn up to help him, and he then went to a counselling appointment, arriving about 10am.

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Witness Stephen Robinson, a Lyttelton Port Company lines supervisor, told the court he was driving home from a night shift when he saw two men outside Benbow’s property about 9am on May 22, 2017.

The pair were standing on the grass verge talking as he approached where Candys Rd came to a junction. One man was wearing a red T-shirt over long sleeves and jeans. He was slim and had fair hair. The other man had a heavier build and was wearing a dark woollen top. He had grey hair.

A dark blue Subaru was parked on the opposite side of the road at an awkward angle, he said. (McGrath owned a blue Subaru, which was found at his house in Checketts Ave, Halswell, after he went missing.)

Robinson said he slowed down to about 20kph as he approached the junction and had the men in his view for about 20 seconds.

“I didn’t give it a second thought.”

When he became aware of McGrath’s disappearance from the news, he did not recognise McGrath from the picture on the news or connect him with his sightings.

“It didn’t ring any bells.”

On June 6, he saw another photograph of McGrath in which he was wearing a T-shirt and he made a connection.

“I thought that (Candys Rd) is where I saw him.”

He approached a police officer at a petrol station a day later and told them what he saw.

He made a statement on November 12, 2017. He was always certain he had seen the men on May 22 but when he first spoke to police he wasn’t sure of the time. He then consulted his work log.

In cross-examination by defence counsel Marc Cornell, Robinson said when he first spoke to police in June he could not remember the date or time. It was not the face he recognised but the red T-shirt.

He told Cornell his initial statement said he saw the two men about 12.30pm and the sighting was either May 21 or 22.

He made a second statement after he had looked at the pilot boat’s log and checked both May 21 and May 22. He realised he hadn’t worked on May 21 and was able to exclude it. In the statement he had said he completed a job on May 22 at Lyttelton by about 9.30am and that his original account of the timing was out by a couple of hours. The time of the sighting then became about 10am.

Corlett told Robinson another witness would say the Subaru vehicle was in Candys Rd on May 20 and a fair-haired person was sitting in the car about 10.30am.

Robinson said police had not told him about the other witness but denied his own sightings could have been on May 20 at 12.30pm as he had said in his first statement.

The trial continues.