7 Provocation

In late 1991 Donald Britton contracted to sell his farm property at Makirikiri Valley, Wanganui to my wife Sandra. Then he changed his mind about selling and tried to get out of the deal by intimidation.

On January 7 1992 Donald Britton said these things to me outside my fathers place in Wanganui. All on tape.

Britton "Jack, at the moment I’m in a fairly stable frame of mind, not every third day I’m not, every third day I’m fucken"….

Jack "That’s not my problem."

B "Nothing’s your problem at the moment, until this goes ahead, until it actually takes place. If this sale goes ahead, then it will be your problem."

J" Why?"

B" Oof, fucken hell, fucken, it just will be. I fucken, listen I know, I fucken know, I don’t fucken sleep at night, I know right?

J" What, you’re going to get violent?"

B" Oh fucken hell man, I don’t know myself. The money doesn’t mean anything to me so I’ll spend it real easy and real quick, this money doesn’t mean anything to me. (Is he hinting that he’ll hire a hitman?) From here on I honestly do not know...what I’m like because I fucken spend a lot of fucken sleepless nights and all sorts of fucken shit, right. If anyone dies you’ll go to hell. If you take my land off me you’ll die on the place, you and your family will die on the place. You’ll not survive January." (Remember his avarice is exceeded by nothing, not even his sexual perversions.)

The police (McGillivray/Haggart) refused our request to remove Britton’s firearms from him at this time saying that we were probably trying to use them to further our civil claims. (Our Specific Performance proceedings.)

Then On March 19, minutes before he signed the Transfer, he said this, "I’ve come that fucken close to fucken suicide about five times over the last couple of months and about that fucken close to murder. It can’t be good for me. I can’t get past that state when I’m in that state. Look I laugh sometimes and the next minute I’m crying so I’m not sure." (Guess who he wanted me to think would be the murder victim.)

Then during the period March 19 to May 19 (After the sale went through.) Britton said these things to me at the Makirikiri farm.

"You know I poured Roundup on the roof, only to kill the moss though. Ha, Ha, Ha."

"See that tree there it’s shaking, that’s a bad omen."

"You know this house is built on a fault line." (Referring to our house.)

"I caught two poachers on my land one day and I made them beg for their lives. I had my gun and a shovel with me. I made one of them start to dig a grave and then I told them to fuck off. I had Mike O’Keefe with me."

"I punched Hugh Speed in the face on the boundary fence one day. Mike O’Keefe was with him and he told me later that he thought I’d lost it."

"I fired a shot near a bloke on James’ one day. He told Alan James that he was going to tell the cops about it but Alan James advised him not to because I would get him back."

"I’d like to be shot in the thigh with a high powered rifle just to see what it feels like."

"I’ve been very lenient with you."

"I’m a fucken schizophrenic are you worried?"

"I got my (rifle) barrel fixed."

"When Maryanne left me I nearly shot myself, fuck it was a close thing."

"Tom’s my puppet, he’ll do anything for me."

19 May 1992

“Yeehaa, I’ve got you now, I’ve got you now, you’ve made a fatal mistake.” Donald Britton.

Those words were gleefully shouted at me when Britton discovered the bullet holes in his vehicle.