Newstalk ZB
May 21 2008; 12:00
Jury deciding if Gwaze murdered niece
The jury has
retired to consider its verdict in the murder trial of Christchurch man George
Gwaze.
Gwaze is accused
of murdering his niece Charlene Makaza in January 2007. He is also charged with
unlawful sexual violation of the 10-year-old.
The four week
trial at the High Court in Christchurch has been characterised
by complex medical evidence and two totally different versions of events.
The Crown alleges
Charlene was brutalised, then suffocated to keep her
quiet.
The defence says
she died of natural causes related to her HIV status and says Gwaze's DNA,
which was found in her underwear, may have transferred in the wash.
The jury is also
out in another high-profile Christchurch murder case, the Edgeware
Rd trial. Lipine Sila is
accused of murdering teenage girls Hannah Rossiter
and Jane Young, by driving his car into a crowd outside a party in May last
year. He also faces eight charges of causing grievous bodily harm.