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Source: ONE News -
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There's no getting away from the importance of Exhibit Number 14.
When it first arrived in the courtroom we were instantly drawn to it. It came in quietly, unannounced. Suddenly there it was with a whole lot of other items from the Bain house.
Not just any old exhibit. This point 22 semi-automatic rifle was the murder weapon. It was a little un-nerving for some. The jury wanted an assurance it was safe. That it wasn't loaded.
Fifteen years on and it doesn't look anything special. Just like thousands of rifles used for shooting rabbits and possums all round the country. Growing up on a farm all of us kids learnt to use one. Dad taught us about safety. We did target practice mainly but once I shot a hawk because it was picking out the eyes of a dead lamb. At the time, I thought it was a pretty good shot for a girl. Back then I had a respect for firearms, but never a fear of them.
But this rifle is different. Back in 1993 David Bain put an ad in the local paper saying he wanted to buy a rifle. On the 6th February, a Mr Taylor responded saying he had one to sell... and after checking the prospective buyer's firearms licence, the deal was done. It cost David Bain $230. It came with a silencer, a five and ten shot magazine, a cleaning kit and belt. Mr Taylor wrote out a receipt and the rifle changed hands. Back then it was used for hunting possums and rabbits.
Sixteen months later a family was dead. When police turned up at Every Street.. the rifle was lying on the lounge floor, a short distance from Robin Bain's body. Initially police looked at the possibility that the father had shot himself... but they later decided he'd been killed along with the rest of the family, and David Bain was charged with murder.
And so "the rifle" became a crucial piece of evidence. Well travelled and well handled. As one police officer said "it's got more airpoints than you and I will ever get". It was initially inspected in Dunedin... then it was flown to Wellington where it was checked by fingerprint experts. Since then it has flown up and down the country between Auckland, Wellington, Christchurch and Dunedin. It's been to Melbourne and the UK. It's been checked and re-checked. Analysed and argued over. It has just about been to more court cases than me.
David Bain says his prints got there several months earlier when he was shooting rabbits. But there's conflicting evidence over the age of the prints. Conflicting evidence over whether his hand was covered in blood when it was placed on the forestock of the rifle. Conflicting evidence over how he was holding the rifle and what he was doing with it, when the prints were made.
In court we have seen witnesses hold the murder weapon to their heads... demonstrating how a person could use it to commit suicide. It's easy to get carried away with the science and forget what a lethal killing machine this rifle was. Margaret Bain found in bed... one shot to the head. Stephen Bain found on his bedroom floor after a bloody struggle. The first shot went through his hand and skimmed the top of his head. A second shot required to kill him. Arawa found on the floor in her room.. one shot to the head, another went astray. Laniet found in her bed... three shots to the head. Robin Bain on the lounge floor.. one shot to the head.
Nine shots fired. Five people dead.
