Murder trial: Did Ike Kingi shoot Bob Kleiman by mistake or was it intentional?

The court heard that the next day the owner found 56-year-old Kleiman dead in the living room. He was lying on his back with one gunshot wound to the right side of his mouth, exiting from the back of his head.

The Crown said the trio allegedly concocted an “accident narrative” that the gun went off when Kingi sat down and he panicked and left.

CCTV also captured Jamieson returning to the estate, where the king accused him of tampering with evidence by placing a mat over a pool of blood and disposing of a firearm.

Farrell allegedly took Kingi north and tried to get two witnesses to recant.

Farrell was charged with one count of accessory to murder and two counts of perverting the course of justice. Jamieson faces one count of perverting the course of justice.

The trio pleaded not guilty to all charges, and Kingi’s defense attorney said he would never have intended to harm the man he considered a friend.

“Bob asked if I wanted to see the gun.”

When Kingi was questioned by police officer Arvin Broderick, he refused to conduct a recorded evidentiary hearing, instead providing a written statement in the presence of his lawyer, Martin Hislop.

Broderick testified that Kingi was withdrawn and difficult to establish contact with. The policeman read the accused’s statement to the court.

The statement said Kingi was at a house in Onerahi carrying out renovations as he and Farrell planned to move in.

Kingi said that when his friend Kleiman arrived, he was inside rummaging through tools. Farrell arrived some time later, and Kingi said in her statement that he came outside to kiss their 7-week-old baby.

“I came home and sat on the couch in the living room.

“Bob asked if I wanted to see the gun,” the statement read.

Kingi said he had the gun in his hand and when he turned to sit down, the gun went off.

“I panicked and looked over to where Bob was, saw he had a head wound and knew I couldn’t help him. There were only Bob and I in the house at the time of the incident.”

Broderick said that when Kinga was asked who was driving the vehicle that fled the scene, he declined to comment and ended the interview.

Medical evidence

On Friday, medical experts testified that the fatal shot hit Kleiman in the right corner of his mouth, and blood spattered on his right hand and wrist.

Forensic pathologist Charles Glen performed an autopsy on Kleiman and presented evidence regarding the nature of the gunshot that led to his death.

Glen said Kleiman’s death would have been almost instantaneous and the shot had gone through the brain stem, making it unsurvivable.

Glen said there was no soot outside the wound. Instead, it was found in Kleiman’s mouth, indicating that the gun barrel had been in contact with the skin when it was fired.

“When an explosion occurs, the gunpowder turns to soot and comes out of the barrel.

“If we see soot in the wound, that means it was very close,” Glen said.

Glen said there were also several other signs of close proximity to the gun, including the absence of dots and skin abrasions.

“When the gun was fired, the gun made contact with the skin at the corner of the mouth.”

Glen said Kleiman also had bruises on his stomach, hips and torso, but he could not explain when the victim may have received those wounds.

During cross-examination, Hislop asked Glen whether the weapon’s skin contact could have been momentary, to which Glen replied: “Any scenario could be a possibility.”

Digital footage was played of the layout of the living room, which showed the house was largely empty, with various items strewn about.

In the living room, Kleiman’s body lay lifeless on the floor in front of a desk with a couch behind it.

ESR senior forensic specialist Angus Newton confirmed that the distance from the couch to where Kleiman lay dead on the floor was more than one and a half meters.

Newton also confirmed that Kleiman had blood spatter marks on his wrist and right hand, and confirmed that after he was shot, a bath mat was placed there on top of the blood pooling near his head.

The trial will continue next week.

Shannon Pitman is a Whangārei-based Open Justice reporter covering courts in the Te Tai Tokerau region. She is from Ngāpuhi/Ngāti Pūkenga and has worked in digital media for the past five years. She joined NZME in 2023.