Death of Scott Guy

Scott Guy was a farmer who grew up on Byreburn, his family's farm, near Feilding, Manawatū-Whanganui, New Zealand. Ewen Macdonald had worked at the farm since leaving school at 16.[1] Macdonald ran the dairy operation, was married to Guy's sister Anna, and had four children together with her. Guy was responsible for raising the calves and growing crops for the cows.[3] Guy and Macdonald both earned around $100,000 a year working as farm managers for Guy's parents, who owned the property. The court was told that at a family meeting in 2008, Guy said he expected to inherit the family farm, and that this led to tension between him and his brother in law. In May 2008, Scott Guy's parents, Bryan and Jo, transferred 400 shares, representing 20 per cent of the business, to Scott, Macdonald and each of their wives.[4]

Bryan Guy testified at the trial that he explained to his son, Scott, that he was not going to inherit the farm and that to own it, he would have to buy everyone else out.[5] The tension appeared to have subsided and Bryan reported that in the previous 12 months "everyone seemed to be getting along really well". Two weeks before Scott Guy died, he and MacDonald travelled to Invercargill together for a dairying conference. Nikki Guy, Scott's other sister, said the pair had a "fantastic time".[6]

One of the Guys' former farm workers, Callum Boe, told police that he and Macdonald had gone on night time trips that they called 'missions' in which they trespassed, poached deer, and took revenge on farmers who had caught them by secretly returning to destroy valuable livestock and property. He told police that on one "mission" in October 2008, they torched an old home on Guy's section.[3] In January 2009, about 18 months before the shooting, they vandalised a home being built by Guy and his wife Kylee, causing $14,000 worth of damage. At the time, no one but Boe and Macdonald knew who was responsible.

Scott Guy was shot dead at the end of his driveway after he stopped to open a farm gate somewhere between 4:43 am and 5:00 am on 8 July 2010. He died from shotgun wounds to his neck, face and arm. His body was discovered by David Berry, a truck driver, at about 7:00 am. Berry called the police at 7:08 am and then called his landlord, Bruce Johnstone. When Johnstone arrived, he took a quick look at the body and phoned Macdonald at 7:16 am. Two police cars soon arrived and Macdonald arrived on his quadbike shortly after.[7] Macdonald immediately rang Guy's father at 7:21 am sounding distressed and incoherent.[8]

Adding to the mystery, three chocolate coloured Labrador puppies also disappeared from the farm at the time of Guy's death.[9] The police claimed, Macdonald stole the puppies to make it look like a burglary gone wrong.[10]

At the start of the investigation, police said there were nearly 60 people they looked at as possible suspects. One of them was a man who committed an aggravated robbery four days before Scott was killed. He stole a carton of Winfield Gold cigarettes and police found a cigarette of that brand on Scott's driveway near the murder site. Police stopped investigating him after his girlfriend, who was a methamphetamine addict, told police he came home "maybe around 4am" but admitted she was "pretty wrecked" on meth herself.[18][19] A number of people told police this man, who has name suppression, was involved in the murder.

Farmworker Matthew Ireland testified that he saw a car coming from the direction of Scott Guy's house, as he arrived at the farm – almost exactly at the time the police believe Scott was murdered. Ireland also said there was a second car coming from the same direction, just after 5am, as they rode towards the milking shed. The police have never identified either of these cars. Peter Coles, one of Macdonald's lawyers, said "The only way you'd be on that road is if you knew of its existence and had some reason to be there – it's not State Highway 1. The failure to find either of those cars, despite it being publicised throughout New Zealand, just defies belief, unless that car is connected with the murder." Coles is convinced the police disregarded suspects who were more likely to have been involved.[20]

Another suspect was suggested by Dave Berry, who was the first to come across Guy's body. Two weeks before Guy was shot he recalled a "tall, unshaven man with dark hair" smelling of alcohol and cigarettes. The man banged on his door looking for Scott.[21]

Another focus of inquiry was assistant farm manager, Simon Asplin, who'd had a grudge against Scott since they were at school together. He subsequently disclosed that "Scott's pissed a lot of people off."[22] When Mr Guy returned to the farm in 2008, Asplin lost his favourite job driving the tractors on the farm. At the trial, he acknowledged that he gained from Guy's death because "he was back on the tractor where he belonged".[23]

The high-profile case took the attention of the public for nearly two years. The trial lasted four weeks and was scrutinised in detail by the media. During the trial, the public gallery was usually full with up to 100 people sometimes lined up outside hoping to get a glimpse of the proceedings.[15] Law professor Chris Gallavin from Massey University says the case interested the public because it involved "beautiful, affluent white people" from a small, conservative rural town...(and) "showed the rest of the country their family dynamics are as messed up as anyone else.[24]

There were a number of other outstanding charges. In June 2007, Macdonald and Callum Boe had killed 19 calves belonging to a farmer who had caught them poaching his deer. Macdonald was also convicted for burning down an old whare (house) and emptying thousands of dollars' worth of milk from a vat on another neighbour's farm. These acts were committed "for retribution" after Macdonald and Boe were informed on for trespassing and made to apologise. Anna Macdonald testified at the murder trial that her husband's relationship with Boe was "immature", and she was unaware of what they were doing on their regular night "missions". When police found out about these missions, they visited Boe, who by this time had moved to Queenstown. Boe admitted to his involvement and, in the process, provided police with an insight into Macdonald's behaviour. They arrested Macdonald and charged him with murder soon afterward.[25]

In September 2012, Macdonald was jailed for five years on the lesser charges. He was eligible to attend his first parole hearing in December 2012.[26] On 3 November 2012, Macdonald's well-known lawyer, Greg King, was found dead in Wellington. The finding of the coroner, released in October 2013, was that the death had been a suicide.[27]

In November 2014, it was reported that Macdonald had been denied parole for a third time and his term of imprisonment might run until completion of his sentence on 6 April 2016.[28] He was granted parole at his fourth appearance before a parole board on 13 October 2015 and was freed from prison on 2 November 2015, subject to strict terms of parole.[29]

Who Killed Scott Guy? by Mike white. It outlines why the author believes the jury was right and Macdonald was not the killer.[30]

• List of unsolved murders
• Murder of Harvey and Jeannette Crewe