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NZ Herald
08-08-2025
- NZ Herald
Whangārei court hears Graham Whines was hiding in bedroom when friend was assaulted
The jury heard the twins had grown up with the complainant, Troy Hansen, in Auckland before reconnecting in the years after 2020 when the families discovered they had all moved to Northland. Around midnight on February 16, 2023, Hansen opened the door of his Whangārei property to the twins who had turned up unannounced. The Crown alleges that, after Graham went to the bathroom, he grabbed hold of Hansen tightly while Colin allegedly struck him across the head with a beer mug. For the next three hours, the twins allegedly unleashed a brutal onslaught, raining down up to 50 blows with fists, feet and bar stools. They allegedly strangled him with a blanket, doused him in vodka and tried to ignite him. Throughout the ordeal it's alleged they repeatedly threatened to kill Hansen and his family. Hansen managed to escape and reach help at his parents' house and told them two Māori men had assaulted him at his house. This allegation was recorded on a 111 call and played in court. At around 4am, a picture message was sent from Graham's phone to Hansen, which showed guns and ammunition. After being hospitalised with open wounds, concussion, broken ribs and a collapsed lung, he eventually told police it was not two Māori men but the Whines twins. 'I was always going to tell,' Hansen told the court when he gave evidence earlier in the week. DNA evidence placed the twins at the scene and Hansen's blood was also discovered near the driver's side door of the twins' car. The trial has been heard at the Whangārei District Court before Judge Keith de Ridder. Photo / NZME Graham took the stand on Thursday and acknowledged the two families had reconnected and been in regular contact following 2020. 'It was like the band was back together,' he said. Graham went into detail of Colin's ailing health suffering from long-term Lyme disease and kidney cancer and said he was still weak at the time of the incident. He told the court he was exceptionally close with his twin and couldn't imagine a life without him. On the evening of the assault, Graham said they went to visit the Whangārei Falls and on the way, decided to travel almost 40km to the other side of town to visit Hansen. According to evidence given by their flatmate, they would have left the house after 10.30pm. Graham said they were greeted by Hansen at the door close to midnight and went inside for a catch-up where they were offered a glass of water. 'He mentioned he was expecting some guys from Auckland to come up and do a bit of business, I think to do with his motocross,' Graham said. When the men allegedly turned up, Graham said Hansen told them to stay in his bedroom so he could have some privacy. Once in the room, which was around 1-2 metres from the living area, Graham said they allegedly heard a lot of noise. 'There were loud voices and banging noises. I couldn't see what was going on but my impression was there was some kind of argument transpiring,' Graham said. 'I didn't know if that was Troy fighting someone else or someone else fighting Troy. I couldn't see so I was very limited in my knowledge of what was happening. 'My concern was to stay quiet and hopefully no one would come through that door.' When asked why he never came out to help Hansen, Graham said he was respecting Hansen's wishes to privacy and was scared. 'He expressed he was okay' Graham said after those men left, the twins came out of the room to a beaten and bloodied Hansen. 'I offered to drive him to the hospital but he expressed he was okay, he didn't need that and he was more concerned about having a cigarette,' Graham said. 'Troy had told me clearly he didn't want me to talk to anyone about what had happened that evening. Obviously, he had something he didn't want exposed and I respected his wishes.' Graham also raised that Hansen had been involved in an altercation at Frings bar in Whangārei weeks prior. Under cross-examination from Crown lawyer Alex Goodwin, he was asked why he sent Hansen a photo of guns and ammunition. 'These people might come back' Graham said he scrolled through his hand-me-down phone and picked a random photo, one he hadn't taken himself, that he thought Hansen could use to scare the men off. 'You remember a random photo of firearms, that doesn't have you in it and your thought was 'I'll send you a random photo of firearms to scare people off?'' Goodwin asked. 'Troy was worried about escalation or that these people might come back. I was trying to support him and come up with a way to calm him down and make him feel safe,' Graham responded. Graham then said Hansen had promoted a narrative that two local Māori men from a bar had beaten him up and insisted, Hansen tell the truth. 'That was the narrative he was promoting to me and I didn't believe that, I think he knew those people,' Graham said. 'You've just come up with this story,' Goodwin put to Graham. 'I didn't come up with the story, that's what happened.' Colin chose not to give evidence at the trial. The jury retired to consider their verdicts on Friday morning. Shannon Pitman is a Whangārei-based reporter for Open Justice covering courts in the Te Tai Tokerau region. She is of Ngāpuhi/ Ngāti Pūkenga descent and has worked in digital media for the past five years. She joined NZME in 2023.
NZ Herald
05-08-2025
- NZ Herald
Identical twins Colin and Graham Whines deny beating and kidnapping Northland man
The charges include wounding with intent to cause grievous bodily harm, wounding with intent to injure, threats to kill, kidnapping and unlawful possession of firearms and ammunition. Graham Whines is also charged with perverting the course of justice after he allegedly sent a text message with images of guns and ammunition to the complainant after the alleged assault. The court heard the twins had grown up with the complainant, Troy Hansen, in Auckland and then reconnected in the years after 2020 when the families discovered they had all moved to Northland. At around midnight on February 16, 2023, Hansen opened the door of his Whangārei property to the twins who had turned up unannounced. After Graham went to the bathroom, he allegedly grabbed hold of Hansen tightly while Colin allegedly struck him across the head with a beer mug. For the next three hours, the twins allegedly unleashed a brutal onslaught, raining down up to 50 blows with fists, feet and bar stools. They allegedly strangled him with a tablecloth, doused him in vodka and tried to ignite him. Throughout the ordeal it's alleged they repeatedly threatened to kill Hansen and his family. Hansen managed to escape and reach help at his parents' house and told them two Māori men had assaulted him at his house. This allegation was recorded on a 111 call and played in court. After being hospitalised with open wounds, concussion, broken ribs and a collapsed lung, he eventually told police it was not two Māori men but the Whines twins. When their house was searched, several firearms were located along with ammunition. Crown lawyer Pablo Hamber said DNA evidence placed the twins at the scene and the brothers had clearly executed a plan to assault Hansen. 'The Crown says when they are trying to escape and you stop them, it's unlawful. They're not consenting and the defendants knew they were not consenting,' Hamber said. Defence lawyer John Howell told the jury the twins were at the complainant's home but were not present when the violence took place. 'He makes a statement to police that it was two Māori men that did this to me,' Howell said. 'You must keep an open mind right through until verdict and my clients are innocent until proven guilty.' Judge Keith de Ridder is hearing the trial, which is expected to last one week. Photo / NZME Hansen gave evidence on Monday about the night he thought he was going to die. 'The first thing Colin said was, as he's got tears coming from his eyes, he's saying, 'we've been planning this for a whole year',' Hansen told the court. 'It was unbelievable' Hansen said that as he was being strangled, Colin repeatedly punched him – shattering the glasses on his face, then allegedly using the broken shards to try to gouge out his eyes. 'It was full strangulation,' Hansen said. 'How much pressure was being applied?' Hamber asked. 'It was unbelievable.' He said when his rib popped, Graham allegedly said, 'did you hear his rib crack?' After allegedly being assaulted for three hours, Hansen could not breathe as his lung had collapsed. He said he had a request of the brothers. 'I said, 'If you're gonna kill me can I have a cigarette and coffee before you do?'' 'You can kill me' Graham made him a coffee while the assaults continued and allegedly told his brother, 'We gotta kill him, Colin'. Hansen said the brothers were allegedly telling him to make a choice of which family member they would kill, to which he responded, 'You can kill me'. 'Graham was the one doing most of the stuff, he was doing most of the talking but they were both involved from start to finish.' According to Hansen, the brothers just stopped the assault and left, driving slowly out of his driveway. 'I just thought, this is weird.' When questioned by Hamber about why he had said it was two Māori men, he said he had made a promise to the accused twins he wouldn't tell anyone. 'I knew these boys had guns. They were threatening to kill my family. But I was always going to tell,' Hansen said. Under cross-examination by Howell, Hansen said he was not sure what the motive was but they were allegedly making strange comments that did not make sense. 'When he [Colin] was giving me a beating, he was saying, 'you gave me cancer',' Hansen said. 'What you're doing is making things up,' Howell put to the complainant. 'I don't think so, sir.' Judge Keith de Ridder is overseeing the trial, which is expected to finish on Friday. Shannon Pitman is a Whangārei-based reporter for Open Justice covering courts in the Te Tai Tokerau region. She is of Ngāpuhi/ Ngāti Pūkenga descent and has worked in digital media for the past five years. She joined NZME in 2023.
