The man convicted of murdering gay Palmerston North man Stanley Waipouri in a "ferocious" attack will take the stand as a Crown witness in the re-trial of his co-accused and former friend Andre Gilling, as a new trial begins this week.
Ashley Benjamin Arnopp was convicted and sentenced to 15 years' jail for his part in the brutal slaying that lasted for more than an hour on the night of 22 December 2006. Waipouri sustained multiple internal and external injuries including having the tip of his penis sliced off.
Appearing in the High Court at Palmerston North yesterday, Gilling, 18, maintained his not guilty plea, reports the Manawatu Standard. In the first trial in February, he claimed he was asleep at the kitchen table throughout the attack.
In his opening address to the jury, Crown prosecutor Paul Murray said Arnopp would take the stand for the Crown.
"He is willing to give evidence but you'll hear, perhaps naturally or understandably, he sought reward for that," Mr Murray said. "None has been given, nor will it be."
The trial is set down for seven days.
