WITNESS DENIES LYING TO GET DRUGS

A prisoner who has given evidence against three men accused of murdering
cannabis dealer Philip Cowan has denied telling lies to access drugs or a
reduced sentence.

In the High Court at Wellington yesterday, the witness, whose name is
suppressed, said the only thing he was promised was immunity from
prosecution for being an accessory after a murder.

He said police already knew he had been present at the killing before he
began discussing the possibility of telling them what he knew about it.

"I did not want to do a life sentence for a murder that had nothing to do
with me," he said.

The witness was giving evidence at the start of the seventh week of the
trial of Danny Clifford Condren, 43, car-groomer of Island Bay; Bartley
Edward Kelly, 35, sickness beneficiary of Te Aro; and Sonny Crawford,
beneficiary of Upper Hutt.

They have pleaded not guilty to a charge of murdering Mr Cowan, 26, in
Wellington on March 25, 2001.

Mr Cowan's body has not been found.

The witness said Kelly hit Mr Cowan with a hammer and all three accused
kicked him before Kelly hit him with a wrench.

The Crown alleges Condren owed Mr Cowan money for drugs but the witness
said he heard the two men arguing and thought it was over Mr Cowan owing
Condren money.

The Crown alleges Mr Cowan was killed in the late afternoon but the witness
said he believed he saw it happen mid-morning.

He was often angry under cross-examination, repeatedly admitting much of
what he told police was lies but he said he told the truth in court to get
a burden off his shoulders.

To Crawford's lawyer, Paul Paino, he denied telling police lies so he could
get out of prison to get drugs, or to get a reduced sentence on a robbery
charge.

He said he knew a reduced sentence was a possibility if he gave evidence in
court but he had not been promised anything.

He denied being a white supremacist or having racial reasons for
implicating Crawford in the disposal of Mr Cowan's body.

He said the suggestion was "offensive".