Bound and gagged woman dumped outside gang H.Q., jury told

Press, 4 November 1986, Page 4

Bound and gagged woman dumped outside gang H.Q., jury told

A woman, who went on her own for a drink at the Blenheim Road Motor Inn, was kidnapped, threatened with a knife, forced to smoke cannabis, beaten up and her personal property stolen, before being dumped bound and gagged outside the headquarters of the Highway 61 motor-cycle gang, Mr Justice Williamson and a jury were told in the High Court yesterday. After ringing the bell of the gang headquarters, the couple who had abducted the woman drove off in her de facto husband’s 1975 Chrysler Valiant car, according to the evidence.

John David Shaw, aged 38, machine operator, and Raewyn Heat, aged 26, unemployed, have denied two charges of kidnapping Lorraine Elizabeth Burton, a joint charge of stealing a watch, iron, handbag, cash and miscellaneous personal effects, the property of Ms Burton, and a joint charge of unlawfully taking a car, valued at $2OOO, the property of Allan Robertson Webster.

The trial is expected to finish today. Mr Brent Stanaway appears for the Crown, which is calling 10 witnesses, and Mr David Fitzgibbon for the accused couple. The offences are alleged to have occurred on February 10.

Lorraine Burton, a nurse, said that in February she had been living with Allan Webster in a caravan in a paddock, a short distance from the Springston Hotel.

On February 10 she drove Mr Webster to work with a shearing gang, and after doing shopping she went to the Blenheim Road Motor Inn just after 2 p.m. The two accused came into the bar and sat

at a table near a pool table.

While in the toilet, Heat spoke to her and witness was later asked to join the two accused at their table as she was sitting on her own. A little later they were joined by another woman.

About 3.40 p.m. she went to the Bank of New Zealand at Upper Riccarton and Shaw went with her. She banked two cheques and withdrew $6O, which meant that she had about $75 in her purse.

Shaw remained standing by the car and he drove back to the Motor Inn where she finished off her second jug. During the afternoon she was asked by the two accused to go to a friend’s place for tea and she agreed, as her de facto husband was going to be away for three days shearing in the country. They all got into the front seat of the car and she was in the middle. Shaw was driving as he knew where they were going. They stopped at the Southern Cross Hotel where she bought a cask of wine and a dozen beer. By that time it was getting dark.

The car was driven to a house near Nazareth House,’ where she was given a meal. She drank wine.

When she told Shaw and Heat that she was going home they asked if they could stay with her as they were going south the next day. She did not refuse them outright. There was a double and two single beds in the caravan, Ms Burton said.

As she was going out to the car the two accused followed her. When she put the key in the ignition she felt something at her side and she told them

she was going home on her own. “It took a few seconds to click that they had a knife at my side, when I hesitated about passing over the keys. It was the man who had it. I stood there and froze for a few seconds,” Ms Burton said. She had been standing when she went to put the key in the ignition and her first thought was to dive into the front seat and out of the door on the other side. Shaw rushed around and got in on that side. She was pushed into the middle and Heat got into the driver’s seat. Ms Burton said that she was too frightened to say much. She thought that they just wanted the car and she offered it to them, but Heat told her to shut up. The next thing she remembered was being offered a cigarette which was the last thing she wanted. “I was ordered to take the cigarette and smell it. It was not an ordinary cigarette. “At intervals Heat would bash my head against the dashboard, so I had several puffs of the cigarette and I felt very sick and dizzy. I presumed it was a drug cigarette. “After the first puff my vision was gone and I felt violently sick. That lasted for about 15 minutes. I had never had cannabis before. We seemed to drive around for ages and every time I said anything I would get. my head knocked against the dashboard by Heat, who was driving,” said Ms Burton. Next thing there was talk about getting petrol and they pulled into a service station. Shaw and Heat went through her - handbag and they found a book of deposit slips which they took to be a cheque book. . As the car pulled into the service station she was pushed under the dashboard because she assumed that they did not want anyone to see her in the vehicle. She was forced to write out what the accused thought was a cheque. It was done with some difficulty as she was kneeling on the floor. She was not able to write a message on the slip to get help. Heat took the “cheque” into the service station, but was not gone very long. On her return she abused witness and told her not to try a trick like that again. After they drove off one of the accused mentioned, about doing away with her. There was talk about dumping her at the Mongrel Mob’s place. She had been given so many knocks that she did not remember much.

They arrived at her caravan and she was

taken inside. She was gagged and tied up with pieces from a bedspread. Something was put over her head. She assumed it was a pillowcase. Her head was struck on the door jamb. When she resisted being put back in the car, she was dragged there. She was told that she as going to be dumped at the Mongrel Mob’s place and that they would finish her off. After driving for what seemed like hours the car was stopped somewhere in the city. She remembered seeing a great concrete block fence after she was pulled out of the vehicle. Apparently the bell was rung and Shaw and Heat drove off. She .was terrified of being taken into the gang headquarters. A Maori woman took the gag out of her mouth and helped her inside. The woman asked her what had happened, but she was too frightened to say anything. There were about seven persons in the house watching a movie. They talked to her and were polite which was not what she had expected. She was given a cup of coffee and money to telephone the police from a call box to report that her car had been stolen. She was taken to the police station. Ms Burton said that there was a gash on the top of her head. Her nose was swollen and bruised. Her jaw was very sore, and there were bruises to her buttocks and the tops of her arms. There were small cuts on her arms and left breast from the knife. To Mr Fitzgibbon, Ms Burton denied that she was looking for companionship when she went into the Motor Inn where she drank two jugs. She was on medication at the time, after her operation. Her relationship with both accused had been jovial up to the time when she went to leave the woman’s place where she had-? had a meal.-': .■ J, v '

Although she felt the knife she did not see it. She had been confused. At one stage there was an argument between the two accused about possession of the knife.

When opening the Crown case, Mr Stanaway said that Ms Burton was dumped outside the headquarters of the Highway 61 gang who took her in and treated her with kindness.

Both accused were interviewed in Hamilton, and at first denied being involved with Ms Burton, but later admitted that they had. Shaw told a detective that Ms Burton had pulled a knife on him because she wanted him to get into bed with her.