A man has pleaded guilty to manslaughter for his role in the death of Adrian “AJ” Selwyn – and a newly available court document reveals how a meth deal gone wrong ended with the discovery of Selwyn’s decomposing body over a week later.
Alex Fausia, 29, appeared in the High Court at Auckland yesterday.
Three times he was asked to enter a plea on a charge – manslaughter, possession of methamphetamine for supply and unlawful possession of explosives (ammunition) – and three times he said the word “guilty”.
His name suppression lapsed at the same court appearance – though two other people also charged in relation to the incident still can’t be named and have pleaded not guilty.
Justice Graham Lang convicted Fausia on all three of his charges.
Members of Selwyn’s family sat quietly and watched from the courtroom’s public gallery.
‘Poor quality’ meth
The summary of facts reveals it began with a planned meth sale on March 7, 2023.
Shortly before 8pm that day, a man arrived to meet Selwyn at the Auckland Newmarket Motel in Epsom, where Selwyn lived, to allegedly sell meth to Selwyn.
Selwyn returned to his room – but about 15 minutes later, he contacted the alleged seller with a gripe, complaining about the methamphetamine’s “poor quality”.
In response, the alleged seller proposed a “one on one” fight, the court document said.
The alleged seller contacted two other men – including Fausia – and asked them to come with him so they could “fasi” Selwyn.
“Fasi is a Samoan word and a commonly accepted English translation is ‘to smack’ or ‘to beat’,” the document explained.
The trio arrived back at the motel shortly before 11pm and the alleged seller sent Selwyn a message, “Come out”. He did.
A kick to the head
“Mr Selwyn stood with his hands at his sides and does not appear from the (CCTV) footage to indicate he intended to fight.
“Seconds into the conversation… Alex Fausia kicked Mr Selwyn in the head with his left foot”.
Selwyn was immediately knocked out and fell backwards, smacking his head on the pavement, the document said.
The motel’s CCTV captured what happened, including the assault.
No attempts were made to contact emergency services or motel occupants for assistance.
What next?
Over a week later on March 15, concerned family members asked motel staff to check on Selwyn – who was “discovered deceased and decomposing on the bed”.
“Police were called and a homicide investigation commenced.”
Selwyn had suffered a contusion and skull fracture to the back of his head, with a brain bleed as a result of the impact.
The preliminary cause of death was blunt force head trauma.
During the investigation, police officers found 432.9 grams of methamphetamine in a red shoe box in Alex Fausia’s bedroom. They also found $16,890 in cash and 30 rounds of shotgun ammunition.
Fausia will be sentenced in August this year, while the other two defendants are set to go to trial in September.
Fausia faces a maximum penalty of life imprisonment on the manslaughter charge.