A jury in the High Court at Wellington has retired to decide whether four people murdered a Featherston supermarket worker who died after being beaten.
Glen Jones. Photo: SUPPLIED
Matthew McKinney, Hayden Ranson, Kristopher Jones and Tariana Jones have denied murdering Glen Jones while a fifth person, Toni Miller, is accused of the aggravated burglary of Mr Jones' home.
The Crown told the court the killing, in January last year, was vigilante justice because the accused believed Mr Jones had raped a woman they knew.
But lawyers for the four defendants had separately told the court there was no evidence their clients had pre-planned the event, or of which of them delivered the fatal blows.
Justice McKenzie told the jurors that in order to find the accused guilty of murder, they must have no doubt the defendants had murderous intent and understood that their actions could result in Mr Jones' death.
