Men blame each other for trans murder

Posted in: New Zealand Daily News
By GayNZ.com Daily News staff - 12th October 2010

One of two men accused of murdering an Upper Hutt cannabis dealer told police he had gone to the flat to "bash" a transvestite.

David Shaun Galloway, 20, and Phillip Christopher Sanders, 42, are blaming each other for the death of 64-year-old Richard Milton Jones.

They have both pleaded not guilty to his murder at the High Court in Wellington.

Mr Jones, who is reported by the Otago Daily Times to have worn woman's clothing and been known as Dixie, died from head injuries after he was assaulted in his flat in April last year.

He suffered a fractured skull, multiple fractures to his ribs, internal injuries and bruising to his face, arms, legs and chest.

Sanders told police Mr Jones had come at him with a knife, accusing him of theft. He said he hit Mr Jones in the head, but denied further involvement.

Galloway told police he had gone to the flat to "bash" a transvestite.

He described Mr Jones as an elderly man "that dresses up as a ******* chick", adding he did not like "that kind of thing".

"I believe in Adam and Eve, not Adam and Steve," he told police. "It needs to learn a ******* lesson."

Galloway later altered his claim, saying he had gone to Mr Jones' house to buy a cannabis tinnie.