Murdered Christchurch woman Ngatai 'Mellory' Manning was working one last night as a prostitute to pay for Christmas presents for her family when she was attacked, a court has heard.
Ms Manning went missing from Manchester St on the night of December 18, 2008. Her body, partially dressed and badly beaten, was found in the Avon River the following morning.
Mauha Huatahi Fawcett, a Mongrel Mob prospect at the time of the murder, has pleaded not guilty to kidnapping and killing the 27-year-old.
The Crown alleges Fawcett picked Ms Manning up from Manchester Street and took her to a gang pad in Galbraith Ave where she was attacked as part of a gang initiation.
Prosecutor Pip Currie yesterday told the jury the Mongrel Mob was taxing sex workers on Manchester St at the time of Ms Manning's death, and that she had refused to pay them.
Several women who worked alongside Ms Manning today spoke of the gang's standover tactics and intimidation, demanding to be paid $20 for each job the prostitutes did.
One woman testified that when she refused to pay, gang members tried to force her into a car. She told the court she refused to go with them because she believed she would be raped, beaten and never seen again.
Ms Manning's partner told the court she had been working on the street since she was 14 years old, and that she would never have voluntarily get into a gang car, or with someone with a facial tattoo.
He said the couple were trying to get off drugs and were taking methadone, a drug prescribed by doctors to help addicts get clean.
Ms Manning had stopped working as a prostitute, he said, but wanted to work one last night to earn the money to buy her family Christmas presents.
The following day he saw a news story about a body being found in the river, and called the police to report her missing.
'Pressure from police'
Fawcett was arrested in May 2012, more than three years after Ms Manning's death.
He told police after his arrest that he joined the gang members in yelling Nazi slogans and barking like dogs as Ms Manning was viciously beaten and raped, the prosecutor told the court yesterday.
Fawcett, who is defending himself, said he did not kill Ms Manning, nor was he party to her murder, and that he was "forced to give false statements because of pressure from police".
The trial, which began in the High Court in Christchurch yesterday, is expected to last six weeks.
