Latest news with #WellingtonHighCourt
RNZ News
25-06-2025
- RNZ News
Detective tells court of 'unusual' actions by murder-accused Julia DeLuney
Julia DeLuney at Wellington High Court. Photo: RNZ / Mark Papalii A detective who was among first responders to 79-year-old Helen Gregory's death has told the court he thought it was strange that her daughter, Julia DeLuney, chose to drive back to Kāpiti and get her husband instead of calling an ambulance. The trial before a judge and jury at the High Court in Wellington is set down for four to five weeks, and on Wednesday entered its third day. The Crown's case is that DeLuney violently attacked her mother on the evening of 24 January last year, possibly using a vase that was missing off one of the bedside tables, and staged it as a fall from the attic. DeLuney dealt in crypto currency and appeared to be in some financial trouble. However, the defence has asked the jury not to discount the possibility that there was a third person involved, with a neighbour reporting a mysterious knock on their door that same evening. The detective, Luke Hensley, under cross examination by defence lawyer Quentin Duff, said when he was called in the death wasn't being treated as suspicious. But he said the blood around the house struck him as strange - as did the claim from DeLuney that, when she had left her mother on the floor of a bedroom to drive back to Kāpiti to pick up her husband to help, there had been no significant blood. Hensley had eight years' experience at the time, but called a more senior officer to get advice, and they walked through the house on Facetime. In his statement on the night, he wrote they agreed it was "likely some sort of accident, but where the blood was located around the house was strange". They locked the scene down for an examination the next day. Hensley also noted at the time he thought it was "unusual" that DeLuney had driven to Kāpiti to fetch her husband, instead of calling an ambulance. The defence's case is that while she was gone, a third person caused those fatal injuries to her mother. Duff asked Hensley on the witness stand: "Did it ever occur to you that perhaps someone else might have broken into the house and caused those injuries and spread that blood?" Hensley replied: "At the time I believed that getting the statement from Ms DeLuney would cover off a lot of that" and "fill in those blanks". On the night of the death, DeLuney was not yet being treated as a suspect. She and her husband followed police officers in their own car to the Johnsonville police station in the early hours of the morning to give statements. The court heard DeLuney's account for the first time on Wednesday, in the form of her statement given in the early hours of that night in January 2024. Detective Elizabeth Lee, who worked in the Wellington Crime Squad based in Johnsonville, read out the written statement to the court. She was one of the officers who was on the scene, but then took witness statements from the DeLuneys at the police station just after 2am. The statement begins by detailing some recent falls her mother had had in the past two years, both times ending up in hospital. One fall resulted in a concussion and a skull fracture. She said her mother often lost her balance, or felt that she might lose her balance around home. That evening, Julia DeLuney's husband, Antonio DeLuney, had brought the car home from work, and she had driven it to her mother's house on Baroda Street around 6pm. It was her mother's birthday in May, and she and her daughters had thought tickets to the ballet would be a nice present. They sat down at computer and picked out seats. "She was in a good mood," she said in her statement. But her mother was "kind of obsessed" with a shirt she had misplaced and asked for help finding it, going into cupboards and wardrobes. At one point, DeLuney went up into the attic to store some watches. The rungs of the ladder to the attic were built into the wall. "Even I struggle to get up there," DeLuney said. About 8.30pm, Gregory went into a cupboard to search for the shirt again, and knocked over some toilet paper, which she said she wanted to put into the attic. DeLuney said at this point, she was in the kitchen. "All of a sudden, I heard a big crash, and I went over to find that she had fallen." Her mother was "sore everywhere" and holding the top of her head, "crumpled and tangled" against some objects at the base of the attic entrance. She moved her to one of the bedrooms, with her mum saying things like, "I'll be alright". She had a little bit of blood on her hand from holding her head. DeLuney said she couldn't see any open wounds, but it looked like the blood - "not a lot" - was coming from the top of her head. She told her mother she was going to get her husband Antonio to help. "At this stage I didn't think there was anything major going on, and I knew she hated hospitals," she said. She left Gregory lying on the floor, with her feet facing the window. She was "agitated" and trying to get up, but she told her to stay put. Then, she drove 40 minutes home, and found Antonio in bed. She told him her mother had fallen and she needed him to come with her to check on her. It took another 40 minutes to get back to the house, and when they entered, they ran into the bedroom and "freaked out" because "it looked like a warzone" with blood in lots of different places. She said none of that blood was there when she left, "so I got a hell of a shock". The trial continues, and is set down for four to five weeks.
Express Tribune
11-06-2025
- Politics
- Express Tribune
New Zealand faces court action over ‘unlawful' emissions reductions plan
Listen to article Two environmental legal groups have filed a lawsuit against New Zealand's government, accusing it of weakening climate action through a reliance on unproven offsetting strategies and a lack of public consultation. Lawyers for Climate Action NZ and the Environmental Law Initiative submitted a judicial review application to the Wellington High Court on Tuesday, targeting the second Emissions Reduction Plan released in December. The legal challenge alleges the government's revised strategy is 'neither credible nor capable' of achieving its net-zero target, relying heavily on tree planting, carbon capture, and other offsetting mechanisms instead of cutting emissions at the source. It also accuses the right-leaning coalition, which came to power in November 2023, of repealing at least 35 climate policies — including the clean car discount and a decarbonisation fund — without public consultation, in breach of national law. 'This will be one of the first legal cases in the world challenging a government's pursuit of a climate strategy that relies so heavily on offsetting rather than emissions reductions at source,' the Environmental Law Initiative said in a statement. The government's plan includes a 'technology-led approach' that emphasises economic growth alongside emissions reduction. It features investments in carbon capture, afforestation, landfill gas recovery, and organic waste management. By 2050, the government projects 700,000 hectares of new forest. Climate Change Minister Simon Watts said in April that the country remains committed to limiting global warming to 1.5°C and that current policies will meet emissions targets up to 2030. On Tuesday, a spokesperson for Watts said the minister was 'aware' of the legal proceedings but declined to comment while the matter is before the courts. New Zealand's Climate Change Commission has warned of an 'urgent need' to strengthen existing policies to ensure long-term climate resilience. Though New Zealand accounts for a small share of global emissions, the island nation faces severe climate impacts, including coastal erosion, biodiversity loss, extreme weather, and displacement risks. The Green Party has backed the legal challenge, saying the government's climate plan is 'not worth the paper it is written on.'
1News
09-06-2025
- 1News
Fourth person charged with manslaughter over Loafers Lodge fire
A fourth person has been charged with manslaughter over the Loafers Lodge fire that killed five people in Wellington in 2023. Three people were charged with manslaughter last week following a two-year investigation into whether the state of the building and the management and compliance of its fire safety systems contributed to the fatal outcome. Michael Wahrlich, Melvin Parun, Peter O'Sullivan, Kenneth Barnard and Liam Hockings died in the blaze that began shortly after midnight on May 16, 2023. A 72-year-old man is set to appear in Wellington District Court on Monday. Last week, two men aged 75 and 58, and a 70-year-old woman appeared in the Wellington District Court facing manslaughter charges. ADVERTISEMENT Detective Sergeant Olivia Meares said police allege all four were responsible for aspects of the building's fire safety systems. A 50-year-old man had previously been charged with murder in relation to deliberately lighting the fire. A trial is scheduled to start before the Wellington High Court on August 25. The fire broke out at the Loafers Lodge, in Newtown, early this morning. (Source: Breakfast) Police, Fire and Emergency NZ and the Ministry of Business, Innovation and Employment reminded those who owned or managed buildings, particularly buildings with sleeping accommodation, of their responsibility to ensure occupants were protected from fire. These included ensuring the necessary evacuation procedures were in place, with an approved evacuation scheme if it was a "relevant building", and ensuring the means of escape from fire were maintained. "Where applicable, ensure you understand the maintenance requirements for the specified systems outlined in your building's compliance schedule as required under the Building Act. Particularly those relating to the building emergency warning system or fire alarm." Those who owned a tenanted residential property should ensure fire safety obligations under the Residential Tenancies Act 1986 were met.
1News
19-05-2025
- 1News
Over $650k worth of assets restrained after man's arrest in FBI probe
More than $650,000 worth of assets have been restrained by police following the arrest of a Wellington-based man as part of an FBI investigation into a group that allegedly scammed several victims out of NZD$450 million in cryptocurrency. The Wellington High Court has now issued restraining orders for assets valued at $670,000, including cash held in bank accounts, cash held in a lawyer's trust account for the purchases of a property, cryptocurrency, and high-value goods such as a Louis Vuitton bag and Nike shoes. Detective Inspector Christiaan Barnard said police would continue to work with law enforcement in the United States to recover assets alleged to have been stolen by the organised criminal group. Cryptocurrency valued at NZ$450m was stolen from seven victims between March and August 2024, with proceeds laundered through multiple cryptocurrency platforms. The offenders allegedly spent millions of dollars on exotic cars, hundreds of thousands of dollars on luxury handbags, watches and clothing, nightclub services, private security guards, and rental homes in Los Angeles, the Hamptons and Miami. Search warrants executed in Auckland, Wellington, and California led to the arrest of several people, with the New Zealand Police's Financial Crime Group arresting a Wellington-based man in Auckland on Friday morning. He was indicted by the US Department of Justice under US Federal law, charged with racketeering, conspiracy to commit wire fraud, and conspiracy to commit money laundering. He was bailed after appearing in the Auckland District Court on Friday, where he was also granted interim name suppression. He was expected to reappear in the Auckland District Court on July 3.
NZ Herald
19-05-2025
- NZ Herald
Cryptocurrency scam: Wellington-based man arrested in FBI bust has thousands in assets restrained
Police have restrained more than $650,000 in assets after a Wellington man's arrest for a cryptocurrency scam. The man appeared in Auckland District Court accused of stealing US$265 million ($450m) in cryptocurrency. Assets valued at $670,000 were restrained, including cash, cryptocurrency, and high-value goods. Police have restrained more than $650,000 in assets, after the arrest of a man allegedly involved in a cryptocurrency scam as part of an FBI investigation. The Wellington-based man appeared in the Auckland District Court on Friday for his alleged involvement in an organised criminal group that stole cryptocurrency from seven victims valued at US$265 million ($450m). The Wellington High Court issued restraining orders under the Criminal Proceeds (Recovery) Act 2009 for assets valued at $670,000 including cash in bank accounts, cash in a lawyer's trust account for a property purchase, cryptocurrency and high value goods.
