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David White / Stuff
Jay Christopher Lingman is on trial in Auckland High Court, charged with murdering Denver Chance.
It took several days for Denver Chance’s body to thaw before an autopsy could be completed, a court has heard.
Chance, 43, was last seen on February 24, 2019. He was reported missing three days later.
Police found her body inside a white chest freezer at an address in Kingseat, south of Auckland, on March 10, 2019.
Jay Christopher Lingman has denied the murder in his trial before Judge Melanie Harland and a jury in Auckland High Court.
READ MORE:
* Denver Chance murder trial: Crown says man mutilated victim’s body before throwing it in freezer
* Denver Chance trial: The murder defendant went on a date while the man’s body lay in the freezer
* Denver Chance trial: Google and CCTV data led police to victim’s body
* Auckland man Denver Chance shot six times before being put in the freezer, the court hears.
He has already pleaded guilty to three counts related to the possession of Class A, B and C drugs, including cocaine and MDMA, for supply or sale.
NZ POLICE
Denver Chance was last seen by his friends on February 24, 2019.
On Wednesday, pathologist Dr. Charles Glenn said Chance’s body arrived at his facility still in the freezer.
Chance’s skin was frozen on the sides of the freezer, so he had to leave it in it for a day to thaw.
Once his body was removed, his body was still frozen, and it took several more days for it to completely thaw.
Photos of Chance’s body were taken every day of the thawing process as it could cause differences in the body, Glenn said.
Glenn spoke to the jury about the injuries located on Chance’s body, including four gunshot wounds.
He had two wounds on the right side of his head, one on his left and one on his right forearm.
Glenn said the gunshot wound to Chance’s arm had an entry and exit wound, which means the bullet went through it.
Regarding the injuries to Chance’s legs, which according to the Crown were caused by Lingman mutilating the body after it entered a state of rigor mortis, Glenn said the injuries were post-death.
There were “quite deep” defects in the bones and it appeared to have occurred while the body was in the freezer.
Fragments of bone, fat and muscle were found in the freezer, Glenn told the court.
At questioning, defense attorney Ron Mansfield asked Glenn how quickly a body would decompose if left outside for 14 days.
Given the time of year Chance was killed, Glenn said the body would decompose at a rapid rate.
Putting a body in a freezer was a “great way” to preserve a body, Glenn said.
Glenn said the bodies are placed in a refrigerator in the morgue to slow down the decomposition process and preserve a body as well as possible.
The pathologist agreed that placing Chance’s body in a freezer did not destroy any evidence that could have helped in a post-mortem examination.
In opening remarks, the Crown said that Lingman shot Chance six times from behind while Chance was at Lingman’s front door.
Investigators found no real connection between the two men, other than their link to illegal drugs.
After shooting Chance, The Crown says Lingman invited his son to dinner at a Thai restaurant and the next day bought a white chest freezer where Chance’s body was kept until police found him two weeks later.
The defense claims that Lingman shot Chance in self-defense.
Defense attorney Steven Lack told the jury that both men were drug dealers and Lingman was Chance’s client.
Chance believed that Lingman had “scammed” him and went home, enraged and armed with a pistol.
“It was shoot or get shot,” Lack said.
The trial continues.
