News | Law and Order

1 Dec 2025 15:33

| outlook hotmail | yahoo mail | gmail | news | weather | finance | shopping | about nzcity | Search |

NZCity News

News

Home > News > Law and Order

The star witness at a Dunedin murder trial has back-tracked on evidence he gave yesterday

The star witness at a Dunedin murder trial has back-tracked on evidence he gave yesterday

13 November 2019

Venod Skantha is on trial in the High Court - charged with murdering 16-year-old Amber-Rose Rush.

But defence lawyer Jonathan Eaton QC suggests the Crown's young witness is actually the one who killed her.

Yesterday, the teen told the court he was roped into driving Skantha to Amber-Rose's home the night she died - and explicitly remembered cleaning the bloody knife afterwards.

Now he says he can't remember whether he or Skantha cleaned it.

>> More Law and Order News

Subscribe to NZCity's Law and Order articles

© 2025 Newstalk ZB, NZCity

Other Law and Order News

01 Dec: A 19-year-old has been arrested at the border, accused of importing large amounts of meth from Vancouver

01 Dec: A Swiss man will spend Christmas in New Zealand - ahead of sentencing in January for careless driving causing death in Canterbury's Sheffield last month

01 Dec: A man who had emergency surgery in Auckland Hospital after a car accident - ended up with a life-altering injury when the procedure went wrong

01 Dec: Two women accused of shoplifting at Auckland's Glenfield mall on Friday - with two security guards and a member of the public attacked - have been charged with aggravated assault

01 Dec: Police have named a man killed in an altercation in New Plymouth last month - as 68-year-old Martin James Mooney

01 Dec: A Coroner has ruled that a woman's death while hunting in Otago two years ago, was a 'terrible accident.'

01 Dec: Christchurch police are looking at whether a spate of robberies over the past 48 hours, are linked to ram raids in the city last weekend

Top Stories

RUGBY
New Zealand Formula One driver Liam Lawson is determined to finish the season on a high More...

BUSINESS
A global tax crackdown is coming for crypto – including NZ trades worth billions More...

Today's News

Law and Order:
A 19-year-old has been arrested at the border, accused of importing large amounts of meth from Vancouver 15:27

Accident and Emergency:
A crash and subsequent fire in southern Bay of Plenty is blocking State Highway 5 14:57

Business:
A global tax crackdown is coming for crypto – including NZ trades worth billions 14:07

Business:
The number of new home consents is rising - with significant boosts for townhouses 14:07

Rugby:
New Zealand Formula One driver Liam Lawson is determined to finish the season on a high 13:57

Law and Order:
A Swiss man will spend Christmas in New Zealand - ahead of sentencing in January for careless driving causing death in Canterbury's Sheffield last month 13:37

International:
F1 standings: Lando Norris, Max Verstappen, Oscar Piastri set for Abu Dhabi decider after Qatar GP 13:37

Health & Safety:
A man who had emergency surgery in Auckland Hospital after a car accident - ended up with a life-altering injury when the procedure went wrong 13:27

Motoring:
F1 Qatar: McLaren pitstop blunder costs Oscar Piastri win, Max Verstappen closes in on Lando Norris 13:17

Law and Order:
Two women accused of shoplifting at Auckland's Glenfield mall on Friday - with two security guards and a member of the public attacked - have been charged with aggravated assault 13:07

News Search

© 2025 New Zealand City Ltd