There were emotional scenes in the Manukau District Court on Tuesday as the first complainant in the historical rape and indecent assault case against Arthur Allan Thomas sobbed through her evidence.
Thomas, who is now in his eighties, denies one charge of rape and four counts of indecent assault.
He is one of the most well-known figures in New Zealand criminal history.
In 1971 and 1973, he was found guilty of the murders of Jeanette and Harvey Crewe, who were shot dead in their Pukekawa farmhouse.
He was later pardoned after a Royal Commission of Inquiry found police had planted evidence and he was granted $950,000 in compensation.
On Tuesday morning in court, the jury of eight men and four women heard from the first complainant.
The woman cried openly as she watched herself in a police video interview describing two alleged events of sexual offending.
In the video, she spoke about the defendant having a kind of power over her during the alleged rape and having blotted out her memory.
Throughout the day, Thomas sat still in the dock, including while his lawyer argued that the allegations had been fabricated.
The trial remains heavily suppressed, preventing any reporting of the years and locations of the alleged offending.
It is expected the second complainant will give evidence on Thursday.
