Lance Hall found guilty of the murder of Jason McNae in a stabbing in Whangārei

After two weeks of evidence, including crucial CCTV footage of the stabbing, a jury unanimously found the man’s killer guilty and returned a verdict in less than two hours.

Lance Hall (51) has been on trial at the Whangārei High Court for two weeks over the murder of 24-year-old Jason McNae following an incident at a block of flats in Morningside, Whangārei.

The jury retired to consider its verdict on Thursday around 4:30 p.m., but before 5 p.m. she asked to go home for the evening and returned at 9:30 a.m. on Friday.

At around 10:50 a.m. the jury signaled they had made up their minds and the verdicts were announced in court, with McNae’s whānau looking reassured, the verdict bringing them one step closer to ending an emotional court case.

The jury also found Hall guilty of one count of assaulting his roommate, Cody Rudolph, and one count of threatening to kill or cause grievous bodily harm to McNae’s partner, Courtney Rapata.

The court heard Hall was staying in the flat with the woman when the situation escalated in April 2023 when he asked to move in with Rudolph, whom he had just met.

Rudolph allowed the 51-year-old to remain, but said such arrangements were to no avail and presented evidence confirming two alleged events that led to the fatal stabbing.

In the first one, he testified that a few weeks earlier, Hall had hit him and exposed himself. A week later, there was another argument in the apartment, during which Hall told him he would “stab you.”

On the evening of the stabbing, Rudolph said he threw the building key card to Hall, who was in the parking lot, but Hall started making a scene about not being able to find the card.

Rudolph came down and Hall punched him in the face.

Rudolph said he called his former partner, Courtney Rapata, to ask for his cousin’s phone number for help, and when McNae heard that Rudolph needed help, he offered to help remove Hall from his apartment.

Upon arrival, McNae, Rapata and friend Boston Tahitahi went upstairs to check on Rudolph, and Hall followed them.

He then turned and stabbed McNae, who was standing behind him, in the neck with a pair of scissors, leaving two wounds, one 2 inches deep and severing the jugular vein.

A short time later, McNae died.

The defense argued that Hall acted in self-defense and was beaten by a group of four people, then attacked McNae with scissors, but had no intention of killing him.

In closing submissions, Crown lawyer Bernadette O’Connor said Hall had an evolving story that was not true.

“The only life-threatening violence was directed against Jason McNae. He had nothing to defend himself against.

“Lance Hall did kill Jason McNae, he did not do so in self-defense and it was an intentional act with the knowledge that he would kill Mr. McNae,” O’Connor said.

Defense lawyer Ron Mansfield QC quoted Oscar Wilde in his closing remarks that “the truth is rarely pure and simple” and it was clear that Hall was not very popular in the bloc.

“The reality is that people can do stupid things and decide to do something completely stupid and take someone’s life, but without such thought, without intention and without motive.

“The Crown doesn’t have to prove motive, but intent,” Mansfield said.

Ultimately, the jury agreed that the Crown had proven that Hall had committed the offense with intent to murder, and the guilty verdict was handed down by Judge Grant Powell.

Hall was found not guilty of one count of threatening to kill Rudolf and convicted of assaulting Rudolf and threatening to kill Rapata.

He will be sentenced on December 17 in the High Court in Whangārei.

– This story first appeared in Herald of New Zealand