Father tells murder trial of tragic daughter's troubled life

A HEARTBROKEN Scots dad has told a trial about the sad life of his murdered daughter - a year after she was battered to death in New Zealand.

Devastated Ian McPhee recalled how he emigrated from Dundee with his family, including tragic Allison, "for a better way of life".

But mum-of-two Allison was battered to death in her bedsit in Wellington last July, with her lover accused of killing her with a chair leg. Mr McPhee, 42, told how the family moved to New Zealand in 1970, when Allison was four years old. He revealed that Allison was struggling with concentration and she was eventually moved to a special school where teachers were better equipped to meet her needs. Allison moved out of the family home aged just 16 and began flitting around various addresses and cities. Mr McPhee told how Allison texted him on 22 July last year - the day she is believed to have been murdered. She told her parents she would not be visiting that day because she had a friend arriving. It was the last time the family heard from her.

On trial for the murder at Wellington High Court is John Hone Haerewa, 53, who has pleaded not guilty to the killing.