In a brief opening statement, Beale’s lawyer, Kelly-Ann Stoikoff, told the jury her client killed his mother, but he was not guilty of murder.
She said Beale never intended, planned or “wanted” to kill the woman.
“One of the darkest times in our lives surely must be the death of a parent. How much darker is that time when the death is by your hand?” Stoikoff asked the jury.
Crown prosecutor Chris Howard said Beale had lived with his mother for most of his life and onAugust 7, 2025, was seen walking “several times” between the home they shared and the shops in Papatoetoe, South Auckland.
Beale had tried to source methamphetamine on this particular day, Howard said, but it was “unclear” whether he was successful.
What was clear, Howard said, was that Beale’s behaviour had become “more and more erratic” in the days leading up to his mother’s death.
Neighbours had seen him on the street ranting, shouting, screaming, “shaking his fists at no one” and breaking letter boxes, he said.
About 4pm, his mother was visited by some of her friends, who Howard said were there to help her with her computer and were possibly the last people to see her alive.
Around 8pm, the 84-year-old accessed her social media, he said, indicating she was still alive at that time.
“There were no eyewitnesses to the fatal beating that happened next.”
Howard claimed blood spatter analysis showed the assault started in the living room and that Phillip Beale then dragged his mother to a bedroom where he continued the beating.
“The greatest concentration of blood was actually in the bedroom where Mrs Beale’s body was found.”
Howard told the High Court at Auckland that Beale struck his mother multiple times to the head and body, causing bleeding around her brain and bruising and cuts to her scalp, mouth, ear and neck.
He said there were “quite large” bruises on her chest and injuries to her arms and hands consistent with her trying to defend herself.
She died from blunt force trauma to the head, he said.
At 9.19pm, Beale left the house and attempted to jump off an overbridge. An oncoming train stopped and a bystander called the police.
Howard said Beale was found by police back in the Papatoetoe shops talking to himself and saying he was from space and wanted to die.
‘She is dead’
When he was taken to Middlemore Hospital he became aggressive and had to be sedated, and it was only two days later, Howard said, that Beale “began to open up” about what had happened to his mother.
He allegedly told one of the hospital nurses that he had jumped off the bridge after killing his mother.
“She is dead because I punched her because she is f****** old,” Howard told the jury, quoting what Beale allegedly said to the nurse.
“He added that she is a witch,” Howard said.
This prompted hospital staff to do a wellness check on Beale’s mother and, when they arrived at her home, they found her with a blanket partly over her.
“She had been dead for some time.”
When police arrived, they found a red petrol can on the bed next to the dead woman as well as a can of fly spray.
They also found matches outside the front door and throughout the house, a matchbox on the porch and what appeared to be liquid splashed on the bottom of the front door.
A porcelain rabbit
A porcelain rabbit was also found in the house, which Howard said was considered relevant because it was covered in Joan Beale’s blood.
In the garage, which Howard said was also occupied by Phillip Beale, the police found methamphetamine paraphernalia and a test of his blood after the killing showed a presence of the drug in his system.
On a calendar on the wall of the garage, Howard said, were the words “lady killer” written in black marker.
Howard told the court that when Beale was taken from the hospital to the police station, he admitted to punching his mother in the head. He said it was only once and he panicked after she fell and he didn’t know what to do and “just left her there”.
Beale allegedly told police that he couldn’t find matches and that he had tried to set fire to the house to stop people from “taking things” from it.
Beale either meant to kill his mother, Howard said, or continued to hurt her so badly, that he “consciously ran the risk that she would die”.
He also said murderous intent could develop in an instant and, because of Beale’s methamphetamine consumption, they may never find a “logical answer” for why he killed her.
It was not a defence to say Beale was under the influence of drugs at the time, Howard said, and “a drunken intent is still an intent”, and the same went for methamphetamine.
Stoikoff, in her brief statement, said her client was “innocent” until the Crown could prove he was guilty of murder.
“Don’t be tempted to make that decision until the end of trial,” she concluded.
The trial continues.
Ella Scott-Fleming has been a journalist for three years and previously worked at the Otago Daily Times, Gore Ensign and Metro Magazine. She has an interest in court and general reporting. She’s currently based in Auckland covering justice-related stories.
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