Death came in black box, Court told

Press, 16 January 1986, Page 7

Death came in black box, Court told

PA Rotorua Death came to a Rotorua bomb victim in a black painted box, the District Court at Rotorua was told yesterday. David Sticovich, aged 30, a printer, of Kaitaia, faces a murder charge after his wife, Michele Ann Sticovich, aged 26, died in an explosion at her Norrie Place, Rotorua, home on August 26.

On the third day of the deposition hearing before Judge Richardson, a Rotorua Labour Department senior explosives inspector described the device he believed killed the woman.

“Contained in a Bison board box which was painted black, it consisted of four sticks of gelignite, a battery, electronic detona&r and switch,” Alexander ‘fieorge McKenzie said.

During the bomb inquiry, Mr McKenzie spent 292 hours investigating the scene of the explosion. Publication of a large part of his evidence was prohibited by the Judge under the Summary Proceedings Act and the public was cleared from the court. Later in the hearing, Mrs Sticovich’s father, Brian James Fricker, a Rotorua painter, described Sticovich as being very clever with his hands. He could do a variety of things from plumbing and electrical work to fixing cars and lawn mowers. He had used explosives to overcome a drainage problem on the Fricker property and "a device the size of a tennis ball to blast rats from a rubbish dump.” A former Social Welfare Department Andrea Patrice Tapsell, spoke

of receiving a telephone call from David Sticovich early last year. She said he had asked what would happen to a person on a benefit if they had a man living with them. He said his wife had a man called Colin living with her and that he thought he had been around since December, 1984, she told the Court Colin Earle Eagle, of Rotorua, a welder, said he had lived with the deceased. Mrs Sticovich had intended applying for a dissolution of marriage in May, 1986, and they had planned to marry. He was not sure if Sticovich had known that. Mr Stan Thorbum, of Auckland, appears for the defence, and Mr Pat Savage and Mr John McDonald, for the Crown. The hearing is expected to continue next week. Earlier report, page 11