The man accused of murdering Scott Guy broke down in tears in court as his lawyer reminded his wife how perfect their lives were in the days before the murder.
Ewen Macdonald is on trial at the High Court in Wellington charged with murdering Mr Guy at the end of his driveway on July 8, 2010. Macdonald denies the charge.
His wife Anna took the stand today and Macdonald’s lawyer Greg King was recalling how perfect their relationship was on July 7.
“Can I ask you this: On July 7, 2010, had your life ever been more perfect?,” she was asked.
“No,” she replied.
Mr King then started talking about their kids, talked about their holiday to Fiji the month beforehand, and how well a farming conference had gone a few weeks before.
“We were in a real good space,” she added, wiping tears from her face.
Her husband then burst into tears and sobbed in the dock as their former lives were recalled. A court worker sitting next to the dock appeared to ask him if he was okay.
Ms Macdonald then started sobbing in return before Mr King stopped his questioning.
Macdonald was a ‘perfectionist’
Ms Macdonald says her husband was a “perfectionist” when it came to organisation and planning.
"He liked things organised, I guess you would call him a perfectionist," she told the court.
“He always carried a notepad, he had a whiteboard at the cowshed and had things organised so everyone could see."
When it came to hunting, she says he was just as organised.
“He planned a bit in advance but would only tell me he was going out that night at lunchtime that day,” she told the court.
“He loved getting his gear ready and he would set it all out.”
He called his hunting trips "missions", says Mrs Macdonald.
The Crown argues Macdonald waited with a shot gun at the end of Mr Guy’s driveway and then shot him at close range.
They say Macdonald did not like the direction the family farm was taking.
The Crown says Macdonald “fermented and stewed” over Mr Guy’s “sense of entitlement” of inheriting the farm, and he tried to drive Mr Guy and his wife off the farm.
The defence say there is no doubt Mr Guy was murdered but argue Macdonald did not do it and it remains a classic “whodunit”.
They say Macdonald has some bad history but the evidence, especially the timing of the events, does not show he was responsible.
The trial is continuing.
3 News
source: newshub archive
