A crucial witness in the Michael McGrath murder trial has given evidence that contradicts the defence's notion that McGrath never went to David Benbow's house on the day the Crown says Benbow murdered him.
Witness Stephen Robinson was driving home from work at Lyttelton port when he said he saw the two men chatting outside Benbow's house.
Missing man Michael McGrath was a builder and a keen, fit outdoorsman.
His long-time friend, who is now accused of his murder, had invited him around to his Halswell house in May 2017 to help move some railway sleepers.
The Crown said Benbow then killed him - but the defence said McGrath never turned up.
However, on Wednesday, a witness who didn't want to be filmed believes he saw the two men in Halswell that day - and something stood out to him.
"One had a red T-shirt on, black sleeves showing through. I remember thinking at the time it must be a Kiwi thing to wear his T-shirt on the outside," Robinson told the court.
He later saw a photograph of McGrath on the news and it made him recall seeing the two men outside Benbow's property.
"I was watching the news and there was a different photograph of him. It was what he was wearing," Robinson said.
The witness told the court one of the men was slim and blonde, fitting the description of McGrath, and the other was more thick-set with dark hair, fitting the description of Benbow.
He said they were standing beside a Subaru, which is the car McGrath drove.
The next day he flagged a policeman down and told them what he saw.
Benbow's lawyers continually questioned the witness on the fact that his recall of events and times kept changing.
The trial before a jury of five women and seven men continues.
