DRUG DEALER'S MESSY LIFE AND DEATH

Tony Stanlake lived and died messily, evidence given at the trial of
his alleged killer suggests.

A jury in the High Court at Wellington yesterday heard evidence of the
untidy clutter at Mr Stanlake's house in Lancaster St, Karori, and the
basement adapted for a cannabis-growing operation.

It also heard of blood spatters on items found in cars Daniel Moore
had been driving, and especially on wood and pieces of carpet he and
friend Peter Leach were seen dumping at Wellington's Happy Valley
landfill on the day Moore was arrested.

Detectives entering Mr Stanlake's house on July 10, 2006, four days
after he is thought to have died, found his cat locked inside. Its
food bowl was empty and its litter tray overflowed.

The floor was cluttered and his two-bedroom flat was untidy. Low-grade
cannabis stripped of the smoking-quality bits was in bags and loose in
various places, Detective Grant Collins said.

Another officer described the plastic-lined basement, 600-watt light
bulbs and ventilation system used to grow cannabis.

Plants taken from it weighed 3.6kg, excluding roots, and yielded more
than 1kg of flowering head.

Pages from a March 2004 Dominion Post were found in the basement and
the car Moore was driving when he was arrested.

Mr Stanlake was allegedly killed at Moore's house in Strathavon Rd,
Miramar.

A pathologist described earlier in the trial how Mr Stanlake was still
alive when his throat was cut, and blood would have spurted from the
wound.

He was dead when both his hands were removed. They have not been
found, though the jury has seen security video from outside the
Miramar supermarket where Peter Leach worked as a butcher. He was
shown putting a plastic bag in a rubbish bin. Leach told the jury
Moore said the hands were in the bag.

Detective Kylie Schaare said she found evidence outside Moore's house
suggesting a cleanup had been attempted.

Items had been burned in an outdoor fireplace, including what looked
like a cellphone.

Rolls of wet carpet lying on top of rubbish bags smelt strongly of
disinfectant and cleaning products. What looked like blood was caught
between the boards on the deck.

Today the jury will continue hearing evidence of what police found at
the house.