Murder accused had 'loving relationship' with mother
Julia DeLuney's defence says there's no evidence of a breakdown in the relationship between her and her mother, Helen Gregory, that would explain a murder.
DeLuney is on trial at the High Court in Wellington charged with murdering the 79-year-old at her Khandallah home in January 2024, which she denies.
The Crown finished its closing argument on Friday, arguing DeLuney had been stealing cash from her mother and then violently attacked her, leaving her dead or dying, perhaps following a confrontation about money.
But defence lawyer Quentin Duff said there was no evidence of a breakdown in the relationship between DeLuney and her mother.
There was only evidence, he said, of "an ordinary and loving relationship, albeit with its own problems".
He asked the jury not to accept that they were being asked to decide that DeLuney had killed her mother, without knowing why.
He argued the police investigation had failed to consider other suspects - by 7 February, it had narrowed down to DeLuney only.
"Of course she should have been a suspect," Duff said. "In none of our cross examination have we criticised that."
But he said there should have been two others - the first, a mysterious person who knocked on the door of a house further up the street that same night, but left before the homeowner answered.
The second was a contractor who had previously worked for Gregory, and who she had suspected had taken money from her in the past.
The Crown argued on Friday it was DeLuney who took that money, and she who put the idea of the handyman being the culprit in her mother's head.
Duff drew the jury's attention to the "myth" of the attic fall, which had "perpetuated itself right throughout the way of this investigation, through to this trial".
He said DeLuney had told them about the fall, but had never claimed that had been the cause of death - rather, the police had latched onto that, and worked to disprove it.
"They were hellbent, you might think, on disproving and exposing Ms DeLuney for being a liar."
He also accused the police of inserting themselves into the story, to make judgement calls on what DeLuney had done.
But he said DeLuney's decisions made sense when you considered what we had heard about the people involved.
The court heard that, on a past occasion, Gregory had fallen out of her bed - therefore, it made sense for DeLuney to put her on the floor.
It heard her Gregory hated hospitals, and was scared of being put in a home. On top of that, DeLuney was scared of being blamed for letting her mother climb into the attic in the first place - so it made sense that she didn't call an ambulance.
And it made sense, Duff said, that DeLuney would leave her mother to fetch her husband, Antonio - if the injury was minor, and all she needed was monitoring overnight, it would be "a load shared" to fetch someone who happened to know CPR, Duff said.
"That's common sense."
The defence's closing argument continues this afternoon.
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
1News
15 hours ago
- 1News
'Loving relationship': Defence denies DeLuney fell out with mother
Julia DeLuney's defence says there's no evidence of a breakdown in the relationship between her and her mother, Helen Gregory, that would explain a murder. DeLuney is on trial at the High Court in Wellington charged with murdering the 79-year-old at her Khandallah home in January 2024, which she denies. The Crown finished its closing argument on Friday, arguing DeLuney had been stealing cash from her mother and then violently attacked her, leaving her dead or dying, perhaps following a confrontation about money. But defence lawyer Quentin Duff said there was no evidence of a breakdown in the relationship between DeLuney and her mother. There was only evidence, he said, of "an ordinary and loving relationship, albeit with its own problems". ADVERTISEMENT He asked the jury not to accept that they were being asked to decide that DeLuney had killed her mother, without knowing why. He argued the police investigation had failed to consider other suspects - by 7 February, it had narrowed down to DeLuney only. Helen Gregory. (Source: "Of course she should have been a suspect," Duff said. "In none of our cross examination have we criticised that." But he said there should have been two others - the first, a mysterious person who knocked on the door of a house further up the street that same night but left before the homeowner answered. The second was someone who left a coffee cup in a pot plant at Gregory's address, which Duff said was never investigated, and should have been. The Crown argued on Friday it was DeLuney who took that money, and she who put the idea of the handyman being the culprit in her mother's head. ADVERTISEMENT Duff drew the jury's attention to the "myth" of the attic fall, which had "perpetuated itself right throughout the way of this investigation, through to this trial". He said DeLuney had told them about the fall, but had never claimed that had been the cause of death - rather, the police had latched onto that, and worked to disprove it. "They were hellbent, you might think, on disproving and exposing Ms DeLuney for being a liar." He also accused the police of inserting themselves into the story, to make judgement calls on what DeLuney had done. But he said DeLuney's decisions made sense when you considered what we had heard about the people involved. The court heard that, on a past occasion, Gregory had fallen out of her bed - therefore, it made sense for DeLuney to put her on the floor. It heard her Gregory hated hospitals, and was scared of being put in a home. On top of that, DeLuney was scared of being blamed for letting her mother climb into the attic in the first place - so it made sense that she didn't call an ambulance. ADVERTISEMENT And it made sense, Duff said, that DeLuney would leave her mother to fetch her husband, Antonio - if the injury was minor, and all she needed was monitoring overnight, it would be "a load shared" to fetch someone who happened to know CPR, Duff said. "That's common sense." The defence's closing argument continues this afternoon.
RNZ News
16 hours ago
- RNZ News
Hamilton brawl: 20-year-old killed was celebrating upcoming birthday
A cordon on Alexandra Street in Hamilton. Photo: RNZ / Daniel Gilhooly Police say the 20-year-old killed after a brawl in Hamilton at the weekend was celebrating his upcoming birthday at the time. Locals near to the scene of a fatal brawl in Hamilton at the weekend have voiced there concerns about safety in the area. Police have launched a homicide investigation after the death of a 20-year-old man following a fight on Alexandra Street just after midnight on Sunday. Three others were also injured, some seriously, but have since been discharged from hospital. RNZ understands a sharp weapon may have been involved. Detective inspector Daryl Smith says they are continuing to investigate. "We are speaking to a number of witnesses and people involved in the altercation and are making a number of enquiries to locate the offender and the weapon or weapons that were used," he said. "At the time, Alexandra Street was busy with cars and pedestrians. We think it's highly likely that critical information was recorded on dashcam or cell phones. " Smith said anyone with photos or videos taken between 11.30 on Saturday night and 12.30 on Sunday morning can upload them to a dedicated web portal. "There is still a lot of work ahead of us to understand the full circumstances of what occurred, but the investigation team is committed to piecing the many fragments together." An RNZ reporter on the scene on Monday saw a trail of blood on the floor of a container walkway on Alexandra Street. A Wintec student, who uses an art studio on the same street as the told RNZ she doesn't feel safe in that area at night. The art student, who didn't want to be named, said it was frightening to have the attack happen to young people so close by. "My brother and his friends were out in town drinking that night, and one of our friends was going to be going into the studio that night, and she decided not to, thankfully," she said, "It could have been anyone." A business owner on the same street, who RNZ has also agreed not to name, said the area usually attracted a young crowd. "This'll be the first time that it's happened since we've opened," she said. "I'm worried all the time." Police say anyone with information on what happened should get in contact . RNZ approached the office of the city's mayor, Paula Southgate, for comment. A representative for the mayor said she would not be commenting while the investigation was ongoing. Bar workers were unable to access their cars parked on the street and were told by police to either walk home or Uber, sources told RNZ. Police said there will continue to be a visible police presence in Hamilton as the investigation continues, as well as reassurance patrols in the community. Sign up for Ngā Pitopito Kōrero , a daily newsletter curated by our editors and delivered straight to your inbox every weekday.
Otago Daily Times
19 hours ago
- Otago Daily Times
Murder accused had 'loving relationship' with mother
By Kate Green of RNZ Julia DeLuney's defence says there's no evidence of a breakdown in the relationship between her and her mother, Helen Gregory, that would explain a murder. DeLuney is on trial at the High Court in Wellington charged with murdering the 79-year-old at her Khandallah home in January 2024, which she denies. The Crown finished its closing argument on Friday, arguing DeLuney had been stealing cash from her mother and then violently attacked her, leaving her dead or dying, perhaps following a confrontation about money. But defence lawyer Quentin Duff said there was no evidence of a breakdown in the relationship between DeLuney and her mother. There was only evidence, he said, of "an ordinary and loving relationship, albeit with its own problems". He asked the jury not to accept that they were being asked to decide that DeLuney had killed her mother, without knowing why. He argued the police investigation had failed to consider other suspects - by 7 February, it had narrowed down to DeLuney only. "Of course she should have been a suspect," Duff said. "In none of our cross examination have we criticised that." But he said there should have been two others - the first, a mysterious person who knocked on the door of a house further up the street that same night, but left before the homeowner answered. The second was a contractor who had previously worked for Gregory, and who she had suspected had taken money from her in the past. The Crown argued on Friday it was DeLuney who took that money, and she who put the idea of the handyman being the culprit in her mother's head. Duff drew the jury's attention to the "myth" of the attic fall, which had "perpetuated itself right throughout the way of this investigation, through to this trial". He said DeLuney had told them about the fall, but had never claimed that had been the cause of death - rather, the police had latched onto that, and worked to disprove it. "They were hellbent, you might think, on disproving and exposing Ms DeLuney for being a liar." He also accused the police of inserting themselves into the story, to make judgement calls on what DeLuney had done. But he said DeLuney's decisions made sense when you considered what we had heard about the people involved. The court heard that, on a past occasion, Gregory had fallen out of her bed - therefore, it made sense for DeLuney to put her on the floor. It heard her Gregory hated hospitals, and was scared of being put in a home. On top of that, DeLuney was scared of being blamed for letting her mother climb into the attic in the first place - so it made sense that she didn't call an ambulance. And it made sense, Duff said, that DeLuney would leave her mother to fetch her husband, Antonio - if the injury was minor, and all she needed was monitoring overnight, it would be "a load shared" to fetch someone who happened to know CPR, Duff said. "That's common sense." The defence's closing argument continues this afternoon.
