Suppression remains on three of the six charges Ewen Macdonald has pleaded guilty to, after a brief appearance at the Palmerston North District Court this afternoon.
Macdonald was in court before Judge David Smith to set a sentencing date for the charges that he has pleaded guilty to.
The offences were committed in the years before the murder of Macdonald’s brother-in-law Scott Guy.
Macdonald was last month acquitted of Mr Guy’s murder. Judge Smith today agreed to an application by Macdonald's legal team and the Crown to divert the case to the High Court, for a sentencing hearing in September.
The three known charges are:
- Theft: Driving to a nearby farm and shooting two trophy stags. He put them on his trailer and buried them in a pre-dug hole on the Guy family farm, where he was a manager.
- Criminal damage by arson: Burning down an old farm house on the back of removal trailers at the site of Scott and Kylee Guy’s new home. The house and trailers were destroyed.
- Criminal damage: Vandalising Scott and Kylee Guy’s new home when construction had nearly finished. "Fukn hore" and "fuken bitch slappr" were painted on the wall.
Judge Smith said the section of law under which the request was made was normally reserved for charges that were above a district court's jurisdiction. While that was not the situation here, he had discretion to still agree to the change.
"The over-riding consideration, in my view, is the requirement that justice be done. As both prosecution and the defence believe that justice will be best served by the High Court sentencing, I am prepared to accept their application."
MacDonald waved to his parents and smiled before stepping into the dock.
He has admitted poaching two deer valued at tens of thousands of dollars from a Feilding farm neighbouring the Guy property in December 2006, burning down an old farmhouse on Mr Guy's property in October 2008 and vandalising his new home with an axe and offensive graffiti in January 2009.
He will be sentenced on all charges, including those which are suppressed, at the Palmerston North High Court on September 14 at 10am.
3 News/NZN