Victim had many vices —Court told

Press, 7 September 1989, Page 17

Victim had many vices —Court told

Nelson reporter A Springfield man, aged 68, accused of killing another man at Tarakohe in Golden Bay earlier this year, is alleged to have written that the only good thing he could say about the victim was that he liked cats.

Evidence was given in the High Court at Nelson yesterday by Peter Foley, whose father, William James Foley, is accused of murdering Adrian Leonard John Perdue, of Christchurch, on Friday, April 7. Mr Foley told the Court that when his father was on bail after his arrest he had asked why he had killed Mr Perdue, aged 46.

In response the accused had shown his son a handwritten note in which he had set out the sequence of events. It had said that following a mishap at the Golden Bay cement works when Mr Perdue had fallen several feet from a catwalk and injured himself the accused had offered assistance.

Mr Perdue’s response had been to lose his temper and start throwing rocks. One rock had sailed past the accused’s head and after a struggle had broken out he had hit Mr Perdue on the head with a rock and kept on hitting. Mr Peter Foley said the note went on to say that Adrian (Perdue) had many vices and the only good thing the writer could say about him was that he liked cats.

Questioned about other conversations with his father, Mr Foley admitted that on one occasion his father had used words to the effect that he had done it (killed Perdue) for him, Peter Foley. Mr Foley was the principal witness on the first day of the trial which opened before Mr Justice Ellis yesterday. Mr Bruce Squire and Miss Kristy McDonald appear for the Crown and the accused is represented by Mr Chris Tuohy. The Court was told that the three men were at Tarakohe at the time of Mr Perdue’s death to recover equipment purchased at the closing down sale of the Golden Bay Cement Company’s Tarakohe plant. The purchases had been made by Adrian Perdue and were to be used by him and Peter Foley in a business venture. They had been financed by loans totalling about $63,000 which had been made informally by the accused man. At the time of Mr Perdue’s death they had been dismantling an overhead gantry crane so it could be trucked to Christchurch. Contrary to their original expectations it had been necessary to cut off a catwalk from the

gantry before it could be transported and it was while this was being done that Mr Perdue had fallen and complained of breaking a rib. Mr Foley said this was one of a number of setbacks they had suffered and it was not a happy worksite.

Following the accident Peter Foley had continued to cut off the catwalk for several minutes before going to another part of the site to get fresh gas bottles.

He had seen Adrian Perdue, who had asked to be taken to hospital, but Peter Foley had said he wanted to finish cutting off the catwalk first.

He returned to the job and about eight minutes later was told of Mr Perdue’s death. He said some time after this he had heard his father tell the police constable called to the site: “I thought he was going to do me so I got in first.”

Earlier the Court had heard written testimony from a Nelson pathologist, Dr Matthew Clark, that Adrian Perdue had died from severe brain damage as the result of a number of blows to the head.

Dr Clark had said he could not be specific about the number but it would have been at least three or four.

The right side of the head showed multiple fractures and there were extensive injuries to the whole of the right side of the face and head. Under cross-examina-tion from Mr Tuohy, Peter Foley said he was his father’s only child and had been in his custody since his parents separated when he was 14. He had moved to Christchurch from Auckland in 1984 and had shared a house with Adrian Perdue since early in 1985, when he was 18 and Mr Perdue had been 43.

His father had come to the South Island on holiday in 1987 and had subsequently purchased a property at Springfield. Peter Foley said he had worked in engineering jobs throughout the period since he had moved to Christchurch and had helped to support Adrian Perdue some of the time since mid-1987 when he had ceased to be in paid employment.

He said there had been talk of a business venture between himself and Adrian Perdue for some time but real moves towards setting it up had not developed until after the Golden Bay Cement Company’s sale. He admitted that during their work at the cement works Adrian Perdue had been publicly abusive towards both him and his father. The trial continues.