Ewen Macdonald's parents have told how their son's marriage ended in a prison visit room five months before he was tried for the murder of brother-in-law Scott Guy.
Kerry and Marlene Macdonald told North and South magazine that Anna broke up with their son - the man she met at high school, married early and had four children with - in January during a 25-minute visit in prison.
They went with Anna to visit Macdonald in prison to break the news to him.
“I told Anna, `visiting's for an hour; you go in first and then we'll go in after and pick up the pieces’," Kerry Macdonald said.
Anna left after 25 minutes, and when Macdonald's parents went to visit him, he was relatively calm.
Kerry Macdonald said it was the toughest time in the lead-up to the trial, describing it as "more s***, another day".
Macdonald was accused and later acquitted of murdering Mr Guy who was shot through the throat in the driveway of his Aorangi Road home, near Feilding, on July 8, 2010.
The Crown argued Macdonald, who lived just down the road, shot Mr Guy after years of brewing about his increasing permanence on the family farm. The defence said the evidence didn’t fit.
Macdonald did admit burning down an old house which was on the back of removal trucks on Mr Guy’s property and vandalising his house while it was being built.
Kerry Macdonald told North and South that while those acts were inexcusable, "it's a big jump from burning something down to pulling a trigger".
Anna gave evidence at the murder trial six times and appeared with her wedding ring noticeably absent.
Ewen remains in prison, awaiting sentencing for the arson, theft and vandalism charges He will be back in court on July 31.
3 News/NZN