A firefighter first to arrive at a slain Wellington man’s home said he’d never forget how much blood there was at the scene.  

The firefighter believed he was attending a medical call, but upon seeing the “patient”, who had been fatally shot in the back as he slept hours earlier, he knew it was too late to save him.  

“I’ve never seen that much blood at a medical call before,” he told the Wellington High Court yesterday.  

His comments were made during a trial for four women accused of the murder of 33-year-old Karori resident Rau Tongia, who was the victim of an alleged revenge killing in the early hours of December 20, 2020. 

The trial is continuing today, with Shayde Carolyn Weston, Breeze Hunt-Weston, Louise Kelly Hume and Pania Ella Waaka all earlier pleading not guilty to the charge. Hunt-Weston has also denied an alternative charge of being an accessory after the fact to murder, and wounding with intent to cause grievous bodily harm. 

Shayde Weston is alleged to have been the one to fire the gun, while Waaka is accused of driving her to the scene, Hunt-Weston is accused of providing the car, and Hume is accused of arranging the firearm. 

A fifth woman is alleged to have been present during the killing, but has been withdrawn from the trial due to health issues. She has name suppression. 

The killing followed an incident at a birthday celebration the day before, during which Weston was seen kissing Tongia’s partner, which upset him. 

Later in the evening, Weston emerged with facial injuries, saying Tongia had assaulted her while she slept. 

She grabbed a knife and the pair began fighting, with police being called. 

She allegedly came back to the property later that evening with other women, including her sister, Breeze Hunt-Weston, and there was an altercation on the driveway. 

Hunt-Weston smashed Tongia on the head with a hammer, and the group left the scene. 

But Crown prosecutor Sally Carter said some of the defendants then travelled to Hume’s house in Khandallah, a property she said was “associated with firearms”. 

Shayde Carolyn Weston. Photo / Juan Zarama Perini 

Some time after, Waaka drove Weston to Tongia’s house, with Weston allegedly entering Tongia’s bedroom through a sliding door and shooting him in the back, the Crown said. Carter said Waaka had admitted to driving Weston to the property, but said she did not know Tongia was about to be killed. 

Carter said the Crown didn’t condone Tongia’s actions when he became upset about Weston kissing his partner. 

“He shouldn’t have died for that. The law doesn’t justify that killing.” 

Breeze Hunt-Weston. Photo / Juan Zarama Perini 

In opening addresses yesterday, the women’s lawyers outlined their defences to the jury. 

Robert Lithgow, acting for Shayde Weston, said she had not been present at the shooting, and that cellphone polling data showed her phone was not in the correct zone for her to have been at Tongia’s property when he was shot. 

He also said there was no shotgun residue on any of her clothes. 

Gretel Fairbrother, acting for Breeze Hunt-Weston, said there was “no dispute” that her client hit Tongia on the head with a hammer, but said she was acting in defence of her sister, who Tongia was in the middle of assaulting again. She said Hunt-Weston did not arrive at the property with a hammer. 

“Please bear in mind that things are never quite as simple as ‘it’s just a matter of revenge’.” 

Fairbrother also said Hunt-Weston did not know anybody had taken her car that night. 

Pania Ella Waaka. Photo / Juan Zarama Perini 

Letizia Ord, acting for Waaka, said her client had no idea where she was going or why when she drove Weston to Tongia’s property that night. 

“Ms Waaka did not think for one minute Ms Weston would ever carry out any threats . . . How many people make threats and never carry them out? 

“How realistic is it that a woman in her mid-30s would randomly become involved in a murder for no apparent reason?” 

Louise Kelly Hume. Photo / Juan Zarama Perini 

Shane Robinson, acting for Hume, said she had no involvement in sourcing a gun for anyone, and that the accusation was “based on supposition, assumptions, and speculation”. 

There are 13 lawyers in the trial, which is set down to take up to eight weeks. 

The trial continues.