Lithgow, representing Jennings, told the jury the Crown’s case was “a bit of a jigsaw”. “It is the jigsaw you would buy at a charity shop. You know what it is meant to look like, but a lot of bits are missing.”
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Codi Wilkinson’s body was found in Bunnythorpe in September 2019. While all the other defendants deny they were involved in any attack on Wilkinson and Rowe or in kicking them out of the Mongrel Mob, Lithgow said the pair were being kicked out of the gang. There was nothing illegal about that, but Jennings did not know it would end with extreme violence carried out with a sharp blade, Lithgow said.
They were attacked in Ashhurst and taken to Bunnythorpe, where the dealer lived and where Wilkinson was found dead two weeks after going missing. The trial in the High Court at Palmerston North is nearly over, with lawyers for Signal and Mariota Su’a giving closing addresses on Thursday. Signal’s lawyer, Charl Hirschfeld, said the Crown had painted Signal as the right-hand man of Mongrel Mob president Jeremiah Su a. It was not denied that the pair were working on a business venture utilising Signal’s mechanic skills, but a gang expert told the trial it was normal for gang members to have work and sport dealings with non-members, Hirschfeld said.