The jury in the murder trial of Alec Junior Moala has been discharged, and a new trial will have to be held.
Sosaia Vaitohi and Methuselah Talakai appeared in court charged with the alleged murder of Moala, 31, on May 23, 2021.
They had been on trial since last week in the High Court at Auckland before Justice Mathew Downs yesterday called off the trial, which had been scheduled to last three weeks.
Prosecutors have alleged Vaitohi was the gunman and Talakai was the driver early on May 23 last year when Alec Junior Moala, 31, died outside an Ōtāhuhu home from multiple shotgun wounds.
A report by the NZ Herald said: “The bad blood between Moala and the defendants had started the day earlier, after Talakai went to the same home for a drug deal set up by Moala’s cousin that fell through, Crown prosecutor Chris Howard told jurors last week. The cousin, Chanelle Mafileo, was slapped by Talakai as he demanded money from her, the prosecutor alleged during his opening address”.
It said Moala got into a heated phone exchange with the defendants about the slap after he arrived at the property hours later, prosecutors said.
“But defence lawyers Anoushka Bloem, who represents Vaitohi, and Julie-Anne Kincade, KC, who represents Talakai, have said their clients were not at the property when Moala was shot”.
