The Mongrel Mob prospect accused of murdering
Christchurch sex worker Ngatai 'Mellory' Manning in 2008 stood
in court today to claim that police pressured him into making
Mauha Huataki Fawcett, 26, denies murdering Miss Manning on
or about December 18, 2008.
He is representing himself at a High Court murder trial which
began in Christchurch today.
The Crown says Miss Manning was accused by the Mongrel Mob of
owing them money when a group of gangsters raped, bashed,
stabbed and strangled her before dumping her mutilated body
in a river.
Fawcett, who has no legal training, stood in court today to
make his opening address.
In a quiet and at times barely audible voice, Fawcett - known
within gang circles as 'Muck Dog' or 'Little Muck Dog' - said
he was "shocked" to be standing trial for murder.
He said he was not guilty, having played no part in her
"I'm here charged for murder for what I've said [to police],"
"I've made these false confessions, which was due to pressure
put on by the police.
"I'm very shocked to be standing here today.
"This crime was totally out of character for myself."
He added that he was "ashamed of the justice" that has been
brought before the court.
"That's all I want to say."
Earlier, the Crown in its opening address said Fawcett was a
soldier, or prospect, for the Mongrel Mob.
His job was to mind the girls selling sex on Manchester St in
Christchurch and to enforce taxes.
The court heard that the Aotearoa chapter of the Mongrel Mob
was trying to muscle in and control the city's red light
district, and wanted to tax the street workers $20 on each
Miss Manning - aged 27 - had been working on her usual patch
on the corner of Peterborough and Manchester streets on the
night she was killed.
The court heard she had entertained clients earlier that
night, and the last known sighting of her by members of the
public was around 10.35pm to 10.40pm.
In conflicting police interviews, Fawcett described how Miss
Manning was taken to the gang pad at Galbraith Avenue,
Avonside, in what was a planned hit.
He said he was supposed to stab Miss Manning in order to get
his patch, the court heard.
The patch, he had been told by gang elders, gave them
"licence to kill, to do anything", Ms Currie said.
Fawcett told police in an early interview that Mongrel Mob
gangsters barked like dogs and gave Nazi salutes as they
carried out the brutal fatal assault.
He heard Miss Manning say, "Bro, bro, what are you up to?"
before she was knocked out by punches, Crown prosecutor Pip
Another mobster turned up and took part in raping her,
A metal pole with a hook in its end was produced and was used
to beat Miss Manning as she tried to crawl away, the court
Fawcett initially told police he was handed the pole and
ordered to hit her.
"And so he shut his eyes and hit," the court heard.
Miss Manning was also stabbed, and a hammer was used by
someone else to deliver the final, fatal blow, Fawcett
allegedly told police.
"He said it was a blood bath," Ms Currie told the court.
All of the mobsters present had gloves on, Fawcett told
police in that early interview, and he had helped dumped the
body in the Avon River, just 200 metres from the gang pad.
They had put the bloodied body in a car which had a plastic
blue tarpaulin in it, and he later wiped the car down with
towels, he first told police.
At around 6.30am on December 19, 2008, Miss Manning's
partially-naked body was discovered floating in the Avon
River by a kayaker.
In a later statement Fawcett tried to backtrack from his
earlier version of events, saying he hadn't been personally
involved in the attack and that he was just a lookout, the
He said he didn't want to stab her and that others did.
"He said he was there, said 'Sieg heil', and started barking
like others did during the assault," Ms Currie said.
He said he had lied in the hope he could get locked up and
get away from the mob.
A post mortem examination identified four different types of
injuries - all of which were life-threatening. They included
blunt force head injuries, bruises indicative of
strangulation, and stab wounds to Miss Manning's chest and
elsewhere on her body.
The subsequent police investigation was "extensive and
thorough", Ms Currie said, but was not without its
difficulties, with many witnesses being people who usually
didn't want to talk to the police.
Ms Currie said even if Fawcett's involvement was less than
others, his actions are still enough to make him a party to
and therefore guilty of murder.
"He was there either as a joint principle offender or as a
party to her murder," Ms Currie said.
The trial, set down for six weeks with around 100 witnesses,
continues before Justice David Gendall.