Shooting in Kāwhia charged not guilty of murder, injuring intruders

A man who shot armed intruders outside his rural home was found not guilty of murder.

Orren Scott Williams, 38, was also tried on three counts of wounding with intent to cause serious bodily harm in the 2019 incident.

Four men had broken into his home on the west coast of Waikato, near Kāwhia, in the early hours of June 6; the Crown says they steal cannabis.

The men were masked and armed with a shotgun and a machete; They fought Williams and pointed a gun at him and his wife before he escaped their firearms cabinet.

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Outside Hauturu’s home, Williams fired at least eight shots with a semiautomatic rifle and hit the four men, one of whom later died of his injuries.

On Monday, the Hamilton Superior Court jury began deliberating at 10.50 a.m. and returned with a not guilty verdict of both murder and manslaughter around 4 p.m.

Jurors also found that Williams was not guilty of the charges of injuring with intent to cause serious bodily harm.

He was hugged by his wife Taryn, who testified, when he was able to leave the dock after the verdict was delivered.

Speaking outside of court, Orren said he was “happy to see my children again.”

It was “the right result for us and hopefully for everyone involved,” he said.

For Taryn, it was “surreal.”

However, a man in court among the family of the man who died, Faalili Moleli Fauatea, yelled “rot in hell” outside the courtroom shortly after the verdict was rendered.

Previously, Judge Mary Peters had told jurors that what Williams was thinking when he fired the first shot would be key to her decision.

“Put yourself in Mr. Williams’ shoes. See it through his eyes. Think about what he knew. Think about what had happened since those four men slammed into his front door. What did he honestly think the men were doing? when did you shoot? ” “

A question for the jury was whether it was reasonably possible for Williams to act in self-defense and that the force he used (at least eight shots from a semiautomatic rifle) was reasonable.

If so, he should be found not guilty, Judge Peters said.

The Crown had said Williams knew the men were leaving when he shot them in the driveway.

“The Crown says he is hardly acting in defense of himself and his family, shooting in anger, telling people to get lost,” Judge Peters paraphrased.

The defense, on the other hand, said that when the car stopped midway, Williams thought the men were regrouping.

He fired the first shot after seeing the nearby shape of a man who thought he had a gun and thinking “it’s him or me.”

The defense argued that “under the circumstances, you don’t get left behind and think, well, a couple of shots should work,” Judge Peters said.

If jurors decided that Williams was not acting in self-defense, they had to consider whether he was guilty of the murder of Faalili Moleli Fauatea, he said.

The action didn’t have to be planned or thought out, the question was what did Williams think would happen when he pulled the trigger.

Williams could also be found guilty of manslaughter.

Ultimately, the jurors had to decide whether he intended to cause the other three men really serious harm.

Shaun Te Kanawa and Joe Tumaialu were shot outside the Toyota Harrier vehicle used by the men.

Grayson Toilolo was hit in the driver’s seat by a bullet that went through the rear of the car and broke apart.

The Crown had a high standard to meet to prove the charges, Judge Peters said.

It was not enough that the jurors thought Williams was “probably guilty, possibly guilty, most likely guilty.”