Trial on scabbing charges

Press, 26 February 1987, Page 16

Trial on scabbing charges

Two brothers who were stabbed, one totally, outside the Doghouse fastfood bar in Cathedral Square in the early morning of November 9 had, shortly before, tried to pull Richie Stuart Clutterbuck from the car in which he Was seated. This had followed an incident inside the shop.

Evidence of this was given in the District Court yesterday during the preliminary hearing of charges against Clutterbuck, aged 24, a sickness beneficiary, of the murder of Paul Tula, aged 23, and the attempted murder of David Tula, aged 25. After hearing two days of evidence from 22 prosecution witnesses, Messrs J. B. Andersen and C. W. Crawford, Justices of the Peace, committed Clutterbuck for trial by jury in the High Court on both charges.' They remanded him in custody pending a date for his trial. Mr R. E. Neave and Miss B. J. Draper appeared for the police, and Messrs A. N. D. Garrett and R. G. Glover for Clutterbuck.

Gregory Colin Rate, a sales representative and part-time barman, said he had met Paul and David Tuia through his bar work. They had been doormen at the same hotel.

After finishing work and going to a night club that morning, he and another friend and the two Tulas went to the Doghouse.

Inside, he saw a blondhaired man who looked as if he had a broken nose.

Paul Tuia grinned at him and some words were exchanged. Tuia went to follow him outside and then a man with black hair (whom the witness Identified in court as the defendant) grabbed Tuia in a headlock, trying to stop him.

Tuia got out of the headlock and a woman, Helen, in a brown fur coat, whom he knew, took him away and tried to talk to him to calm him. Tuia started to walk outside, arguing with Clutterbuck. David Tula then came downstairs, and asked if somebody was trying to hurt his brother. The witness said yes, and David Tuia went outside and chased the other person (with the broken nose) round the corner into Worcester Street.

Clutterbuck was arguing with Paul Tuia outside the shop, and then went to a car and sat inside.

, The door was open, and Paul Tuia grabbed his foot to drag him out ! David Tuia, who had returned from chasing the other man, helped his brother to try to pull Clutterbuck from the car. Then Paul Tuia seemed to be fighting Clutterbuck. Tula then backed off or staggered away towards the shop, and fell.

The witness then saw Clutterbuck and David Tuia fighting. David Tuia hit Clutterbuck, knocking him to the ground, and then walked over to his brother. The woman in the fur coat, Helen, then screamed: “You’ve stabbed him, you bastard, • you’ve stabbed him,” and kicked Clutterbuck a few times.

Clutterbuck then got up and ran off into Worcester Street, carrying a knife. He appeared groggy when he started running away. The witness said he did not see the knife very well. He just saw a bit of silver flashing. It looked like a blade of 10cm to 12.5 cm.

Cross-examined, Mr Rate said Paul Tuia took a swing at Clutterbuck after getting free of the headlock. The woman, Helen, tried to calm Tuia down a bit. David Tuia, after coming downstairs, appeared to want to stop the fighting and to try to make sure his brother,was not getting beaten up.

After David Tuia had chased the other man, Clutterbuck was sitting in a car on his own and then words were exchanged between him and Paul Tuia.

Paul Tuia tried to kick Clutterbuck while Clutterbuck was sitting in the car.

At that stage David Tuia returned and tried to get Clutterbuck out of the car.

John William Kennard, unemployed, gave evidence of accompanying Clutterbuck that morning and the previous evening. At one stage he went out of the Doghouse, saw five persons sitting on the bonnet of the car they had travelled in and told them to get off. All did except one girl. He sat in the car and the group looked at him and laughed.

He got out to speak to them and threw a roundhouse punch at one. He then knocked the: food away from the girl who had been sitting on the bonnet.

A man, unknown to him, approached — and head-butted him, breaking his nose.

A Maori man,' who had previously called the witness a boy, called out to the man who had injured the witness, to fight Clutterbuck intervened saying he did not want any hassles.

He then went to the car and was followed by another Maori man. The first Maori man then kicked. Clutterbuck while the second tried to fight the witness, who ran off into Worcester Street After he saw the men had discontinued the chase, Mr Kennard said, he went back and heard a girl call for an ambulance. He saw Clutterbuck on the footpath being kicked by three or four people who were standing round him.

Mr Kennard said the next he remembered was running beside Clutterbuck through alleyways for 20 minutes. Clutterbuck held a knife with blood on it He had seen the knife before, in their flat. He did not think Clutterbuck was carrying the knife that night and did not know where he got it from.

Later, they dropped the knife into the river from South Brighton bridge, and drove to Little River.

They decided to give themselves up to the police, after Mr Kennard had seen his girl friend in Invercargill. They drove to Invercargill and called at the police station there. David Tuia, a storeman and part-time hotel doorman, gave evidence of leaving the hotel where he worked at 1.30 a.m. and meeting his brother, Paul.

After visiting a night club they went to the Doghouse.

He said he went outside and saw a man holding a bottle as though about to throw it at him. The man then ran and the witness chased after him. There had been no punching by either of them.

Mr Tuia said he returned to the Square after

a short chase and saw his brother, Paul, and the other man (defendant)

fighting Mr Tuia said he ran to them and grabbed the man to pull him back from Paul. He saw the man had a knife. ’ All three feu to the ground. Mr Tuia said he held the man’s arm which held the knife.

He punched the man’s face three times, trying to make him let go of the knife, and did not recall being stabbed.

He then went to where his brother was lying.

Mr Tuia said he was in hospital for 10 days after the Incident, having sustained wounds or cuts to the abdomen, both forearms, and a thumb.

Tuia said he did not see any of the argument involving his brother and the European men Inside the Doghouse. He spoke briefly to the man who had suffered a broken nose, outride the Doghouse, and then Chased him into Worcester Street He said he did not hesitate at all before joining in the scuffle between his brother and Clutterbuck.

Sandra Fay Leonard, a receptionist raid she was a close friend of Clutterbuck. After leaving a party at 3.30 a.m. she drove him and Kennard to the Doghouse. While she and Clutterbuck were Inside, Kennard went out and returned later with a broken nose. Clutterbuck asked what had happened, but Kennard said it was not worth worrying about.

A Maori man then walked in and smiled at Kennard in a smart way.

There was a comment passed by Clutterbuck or Kennard to this person. She tried to get them out of the Doghouse.

She then turned and saw Clutterbuck and the Maori man swinging at each other. She did not think they connected. The girl in the fur coat then pulled the Maori man away. The witness went back inside to try to patch the argument up with the girl and the Maori man. She then walked to the car, in which Clutterbuck and Kennard were sitting.

The Maori man then pushed past her, leaning into the car. She pulled him back.

She could see the man and Clutterbuck were the Maori man “not to my car,” but he took no notice and turned to have another go at Qutterbuck.

She tried to pull him back, but the woman in the fur coat pulled her away, and led her to the corner.

They turned and she saw the Maori who had been fighting with Clutterbuck lying on the ground. Clutterbuck was on the ground with another Maori standing over him, kicking him. She realised the Maori on the ground had been stabbed and went into the Doghouse to have an ambulance called.

She had not seen Clutterbuck carrying a knife. To the best of her knowledge there was no knife to her car's glovebox or anywhere else to the car that evening.

Leonard said she had tried to break up the fighting at the car, but was prevented from doing so by the woman In the fur coat

She told her not to get involved and keep out of

Dr Leonard Lawrence Treadgold, a pathologist said that the cause of the death of Paul Tuia was a loss of blood from a wound to the heart

The officer In charge of the case, Detective Sergeant John Milton Lyall, said that he travelled to Invercargill on November 10 and as he was walking into the Invercargill Police Station so was Clutterbuck, who said he had come to give himself up.

At 8.30 p.m. Qutterbuck asked for a solicitor and it was arranged for Mr Roger Eagles to come to the station. He spoke with Qutterbuck until about 10.15 p.m. and at 10.20 p.m. Qutterbuck started to make a written statement which was concluded at 12.45 a.m.

To Mr Garrett, Sergeant Lyall said that Qutterbuck was co-operative, but complained of being unwell and arrangements were made for a doctor to see him. David Tuia had been charged with assaulting Qutterbuck under?: the Crimes Act He / had pleaded guilty and? had been sentenced.