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Footage of Dunedin bus hub stabbing shown to jury

Author
Ben Tomsett ,
Publish Date
Thu, 27 Feb 2025, 1:23pm

Footage of Dunedin bus hub stabbing shown to jury

Author
Ben Tomsett ,
Publish Date
Thu, 27 Feb 2025, 1:23pm

Footage of the moment a 16-year-old boy was fatally stabbed at a central Dunedin bus hub has been shown to a jury.

The trial of a 14-year-old accused of Enere Taana-McLaren’s murder began on Wednesday when a jury was empanelled in the High Court at Dunedin before Justice Robert Osborne.

Taana-McLaren died of a single stab wound at the bus hub on Great King St, on May 23 last year.

The 14-year-old defendant, who has name suppression, has reaffirmed his not-guilty plea to the single charge of murder.

Enare Taana Mclean died of a single stab wound at the Dunedin bus hub on May 23, 2024. Photo / Ben Tomsett
Enare Taana Mclean died of a single stab wound at the Dunedin bus hub on May 23, 2024. Photo / Ben Tomsett

The defence case is that he acted in self-defence.

This morning, the jury was shown footage of the incident from multiple CCTV and cellphone camera angles.

Several members of the public gallery left before the footage was shown.

CCTV footage showed the defendant exiting a bus at the bus hub, and an exchange could then be seen taking place between the defendant and Taana-McLaren.

The exchange escalated into a physical altercation and ended up in the middle of the road.

A bus hub security staff ran to the pair and attempted to physically intervene.

A physical scuffle took place, and a “long, shiny object” could be seen being thrown away from the pair and clattering to the ground a few feet away.

The trial is underway at the Dunedin High Court. Photo / George Heard
The trial is underway at the Dunedin High Court. Photo / George Heard

The pair then tumbled to the ground with both on top of the other at separate points.

From another angle, a member of the public can be seen picking up the object from the road and tossing it to the sidewalk before running toward the pair.

The pair were quickly separated by bus hub security and a member of the public.

In cellphone footage of the fight, witnesses could be heard exclaiming, “Someone’s been f***ing stabbed, bro.”

The defendant was walked away by a member of the public, while Taana-McLaren could be seen getting to his feet, lifting his shirt, and looking down.

He then clutches his abdomen and walks to the sidewalk as members of the public can be seen speaking with him.

Taana-McLaren could be seen sitting on the sidewalk, and then lying down.

A bus driver who witnessed the events gave evidence today.

He said he noticed McLaren-Taana because he had seen him at the bus hub before.

When the defendant exited another bus, the witness described McLaren-Taana calling out and gesturing to the boy, who appeared to “not want a bar of it.”

The trial is set down for 18 days.

Ben Tomsett is a Multimedia Journalist for the New Zealand Herald, based in Dunedin.

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