Graham and Colin Whines, of Ngunguru, were on trial in the Whangārei District Court last week.
The jury heard the twins grew up with the complainant, Troy Hansen, in Auckland before reconnecting in the years after 2020 when the families discovered they had all moved to Northland.
Around midnight on February 16, 2023, Hansen opened the door of his Whangārei property to the twins who had turned up unannounced.
Hansen gave evidence that after Graham went to the bathroom, he came back and held him tightly while Colin allegedly struck him across the head with a beer mug.
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For the next three hours, the twins unleashed a brutal onslaught, raining down up to 50 blows with fists, feet and bar stools.
They allegedly strangled him with a blanket, doused him in vodka and tried to ignite him. Throughout the ordeal it’s alleged they repeatedly threatened to kill Hansen and his family.
Hansen managed to escape and reach help at his parents’ house and told them two Māori men assaulted him at his house, which became a focal point of the trial.
This allegation was recorded on a 111 call and played in court.
Hansen and Graham both gave evidence, but their stories differed.
Hansen told the court the brothers turned up unannounced and inflicted the beating with a strange motive.
“When he [Colin] was giving me a beating, he was saying, ‘you gave me cancer’.”
Hansen first stated it was two Māori men when he reached his parents for help and repeated the statement at the hospital.
Judge Keith de Ridder will sentence the twins later this year. Photo / NZME
Days later, he identified the Whines twins as the assailants.
Hansen said he was scared to reveal who inflicted the beating as he knew they had guns and they had allegedly threatened to kill his family.
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However, Graham gave evidence he and his brother were welcomed into Hansen’s home and were told to go into a bedroom when two men arrived that he said he did not see.
“There were loud voices and banging noises. I couldn’t see what was going on but my impression was there was some kind of argument transpiring,” Graham said.
“My concern was to stay quiet and hopefully no one would come through that door.”
When asked why he never came out to help, Graham said he was respecting Hansen’s wishes to privacy and was scared.
‘It’s a story’
Crown lawyer Alex Goodwin said in closing, the Whines had made the story up to try and get around the DNA evidence found at the scene.
“If it was two random Māori guys …. he could of just not identified anyone, there was no need to ID Graham and Colin Whines unless they did it,” Goodwin said
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“It’s a story, a fabrication that’s been created to explain the evidence that put them in Troy’s home that night.”
In closing submissions, Graham’s lawyer John Howell said the Crown had put forward a case which ignored a flawed investigation.
“He’s said it was two Māori men but he changes his story, perhaps his phone data would tell a story. We’ll never know because police never took it,” Howell said.
The defence argued no DNA was taken from the bar stools allegedly used in the assault and said the twins stayed in the room to avoid becoming victims themselves.
“Graham explained, ‘why would we want to come out and be assaulted ourselves?’
“Who would want to walk into that situation?” Howell submitted to the jury.
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Colin’s lawyer Xu Wang gave a brief closing, saying what had been submitted for Graham also applied for Colin.
“You have to be sure. You can’t lie in bed a few months later and think maybe I’m not so sure,” Wang said.
The jury retired on Friday morning and delivered their verdicts later that afternoon, finding the twins guilty of wounding with intent to cause grievous bodily harm, kidnapping and threatening to kill Hansen.
Graham was also found guilty of attempting to pervert the course of justice for sending a picture text of guns and ammunition in an attempt to threaten Hansen into silence.
The jury could not reach a decision on the threats to kill on Hansen’s family or the assault that allegedly used a beer mug.
The twins will be sentenced in October.
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Shannon Pitman is a Whangārei-based reporter for Open Justice covering courts in the Te Tai Tokerau region. She is of Ngāpuhi/ Ngāti Pūkenga descent and has worked in digital media for the past five years. She joined NZME in 2023.