The mother of a man accused of inflicting fatal blows on a Lower Hutt man, using an ornamental cat as a weapon, has told a jury her son is an alcoholic.
Sean Brown, 26, is before the High Court in Wellington charged with murdering Harold Skudder in January 2007.
Mr Skudder disappeared in 2007, though he was not reported missing until February 2008.
The Crown says Sean Brown murdered him by hitting him three times with the 15kg statue. Mr Brown says he was acting in defence of his mother and brother.
His mother, Lorraine Brown, told the court on Tuesday she met Harold Skudder when he was visiting her neighbours, and later, when he was looking for a place to stay, she told him he could sleep on her lounge floor.
She said Mr Skudder's few possessions included photos of his family, and he told her he loved them very much.
