Three News
May 21 2008; 11:31

Juries retire in high profile court cases

The juries have retired in two long and high profile court cases in Christchurch.

George Evans Gwaze is charged with the sexual violation and murder of his niece Charlene Makaza.

The crown says the 10-year-old girl, who lived as part of 54-year-old Gwaze's household, died of suffocation after a sex attack, but the defence says she died of an overwhelming infection associated with congenital HIV, a condition she had been born with.

And after hearing a 65-minute summing up by trial judge Justice John Fogarty, the jury in the trial of Lipine Sila on charges of murder and intentionally causing grievous bodily harm retired to consider its verdicts at 10.45am.

The 23-year-old Mairehau factory hand is charged with murdering two 16-year-old schoolgirls and causing grievous bodily harm for driving a car through partygoers in the street outside an out-of-control party Christchurch's Edgeware Road last May.

The car struck 28 people.

The crown says it was an act of anger, but the defence says Sila was panicked after being assaulted and was fleeing for his safety.