After stealing a vehicle and travelling to Auckland, Dixon fatally shot James Te Aute in Highland Park with a burst of ten bullets from a homemade sub-machine gun.
First, it was argued that the trial judge, Judith Potter, did not properly instruct the jury on the law relating to insanity.
A cousin named Andre Joel Wilkie Mail was later jailed for attempting to bribe a juror during Dixon's second trial.
[8] Hart chose not to lay a formal complaint as he felt that his client was suffering from severe mental health issues.
On National Radio on the afternoon of 4 February, Hart denied that an attack had happened at all, refusing to speak further about it with the interviewer.
[3] At 10:30 PM on 4 February 2009, the night before his scheduled re-sentencing, Dixon was found dead in his cell at Auckland Prison.
Some aspects of the crime, such as Gunbie's severed hand giving the bird, or the use of the homemade sub-machine gun and claims of being followed by 747s, were viewed as humorous.