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Agnew murder accused charged over Dunedin attack | NATIONAL | NEWS | tvnz.co.nz
The man standing trial for the murder and rape of Christchurch deaf woman Emma Agnew is also facing charges relating to a violent sexual attack on a Dunedin student a week after Agnew disappeared.
Liam James Reid, 36, whose image is suppressed, is defending all charges.
The joining of the Dunedin charges to Reid's murder trial at the High Court in Christchurch remained suppressed until the indictment was read in court on Monday before the jury was empanelled.
The trial, before Justice Lester Chisholm, is expected to take at least four weeks.
Reid faces charges of raping and murdering 20-year-old Agnew, a profoundly deaf woman, on November 15 last year. In relation to the Dunedin incident, he faces charges of attempted murder, rape, sexual violation and robbery.
The Crown says its case against Reid is overwhelming.
"You are going hear about the admissions he made to .... that he raped and killed the deaf girl, his fingerprints on her vehicle, pubic-like hair in the vehicle," prosecutor Pip Currie says.
The body of 20-year-old Agnew was found naked and partially covered in foliage near Spencer Park on the outskirts of Christchurch.
"Her body showed signs of physical violence," Currie says.
The crown says the injuries are similar to an attack on a Dunedin student just nine days after Agnew disappeared.
"A significant aspect that connects the two separate matters relates to the level of sexual violence that has occurred," says Currie.
The student was attacked outside her flat.
"She was told not to say anything, not to scream or she would be killed," says Currie.
"During the course of the attack, the accused told .... that he had raped someone before and that he had killed someone."
The Crown says Reid's DNA was recovered from under the woman's fingernails.
But his defence lawyer says the DNA evidence is thin and he appealed for an open mind
"The defence is that Liam Reid was not responsible for whatever it was that happened to either of these two young women," his counsel David Bunce says.
The Crown says Reid has recently claimed he has an alibi for the time when Agnew was killed but the Crown says it will dismiss it as entirely fabricated.
Late on Monday Agnew's mother was one of the first of over 100 witnesses to give evidence.
The man standing trial for the murder and rape of Christchurch deaf woman Emma Agnew is also facing charges relating to a violent sexual attack on a Dunedin student a week after Agnew disappeared.
Liam James Reid, 36, whose image is suppressed, is defending all charges.
The joining of the Dunedin charges to Reid's murder trial at the High Court in Christchurch remained suppressed until the indictment was read in court on Monday before the jury was empanelled.
The trial, before Justice Lester Chisholm, is expected to take at least four weeks.
Reid faces charges of raping and murdering 20-year-old Agnew, a profoundly deaf woman, on November 15 last year. In relation to the Dunedin incident, he faces charges of attempted murder, rape, sexual violation and robbery.
The Crown says its case against Reid is overwhelming.
"You are going hear about the admissions he made to .... that he raped and killed the deaf girl, his fingerprints on her vehicle, pubic-like hair in the vehicle," prosecutor Pip Currie says.
The body of 20-year-old Agnew was found naked and partially covered in foliage near Spencer Park on the outskirts of Christchurch.
"Her body showed signs of physical violence," Currie says.
The crown says the injuries are similar to an attack on a Dunedin student just nine days after Agnew disappeared.
"A significant aspect that connects the two separate matters relates to the level of sexual violence that has occurred," says Currie.
The student was attacked outside her flat.
"She was told not to say anything, not to scream or she would be killed," says Currie.
"During the course of the attack, the accused told .... that he had raped someone before and that he had killed someone."
The Crown says Reid's DNA was recovered from under the woman's fingernails.
But his defence lawyer says the DNA evidence is thin and he appealed for an open mind
"The defence is that Liam Reid was not responsible for whatever it was that happened to either of these two young women," his counsel David Bunce says.
The Crown says Reid has recently claimed he has an alibi for the time when Agnew was killed but the Crown says it will dismiss it as entirely fabricated.
Late on Monday Agnew's mother was one of the first of over 100 witnesses to give evidence.