The parents of the man accused of killing Scott Guy say their son was upset and crying after the murder.
Marlene and Kerry Macdonald gave evidence at their son Ewen's trial at the High Court in Wellington today. Ewen has pleaded not guilty to shooting his brother-in-law almost two years ago.
Marlene told the court her son was crying when he called her and broke the news to them of Guy's death.
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"I said to him, 'do you know how he was killed? And he said 'I think his throat might have been cut,'" Marlene said, contradicting the Crown's claim that Ewen told people his brother-in-law had been shot before police knew that was how Guy died.
Kerry, who owns a hunting and fishing store, told the court on the day Guy was killed, his son did not have any of his guns.
Earlier, Ewen's wife Anna Macdonald was questioned about a pair of diving boots. The crown says whoever killed Guy wore a distinctive pair of diving boots, and they say Ewen bought such a pair from his father's hunting shop.
But Ewen's wife said she thought she threw them out when they moved house in 2008, well before the murder.
"We were going to move, and I said to Ewen: 'We're not keeping that. We're not taking that down' because we were just having a big clean out, a big throw out," Anna told the court.
And Marlene said the boots were not there when she stayed at her son's house shortly before Guy's murder.
Police giving evidence today said that despite an extensive search of the Guy property, they never found the dive boots, or the labrador puppies they say Ewen stole to make police think the murder was a burglary gone wrong.
Anna also described to the jury Macdonald's usual morning routine. She said she could recall the alarm was set for 4.45am, but said her youngest son would often fiddle with the alarm clock
The Crown alleges Macdonald murdered Guy against a backdrop of tension over the future of both men at the Feilding farm they worked on.
The trial continues on Monday.
The trial so far:
21/6 Ewen Macdonald's wife asked him
if he killed her brother, Scott Guy.
19/6 Ewen Macdonald
admitted vandalising a property belong to Guy and
painting abusive graffiti about his wife, Kylee.
18/6 A
police interview with murder-accused Ewen
Macdonald is played to the jury.
14/6 Scott Guy murder accused
rushed to scene, court hears
13/6
Ewen Macdonald emotional when his wife Anna
described her happiness before her brother Scott was killed.
12/6 Scott Guy murder
accused a 'good shot,' court hears
8/6 Scott Guy's widow
Kylee recalls the morning he was killed
5.6 Scott Guy
murder trial starts in the High Court in
Wellington