Blake murder trial opens

Sir Peter's boat was attacked by river pirates

By the BBC's Jan Rocha in Sao Paulo

The trial of six men accused of killing world famous New Zealand yachtsman Sir Peter Blake has begun in Brazil.

Sir Peter was murdered last December during an attempt to rob his boat as it lay moored in an Amazon river.

On the first day of the trial, four crew members who were on the boat when Sir Peter was shot dead by a gang of river pirates were cross-examined by defence and prosecution lawyers.

Two were New Zealanders, one English and one Brazilian.

The hearings are being conducted by a federal judge in a court in Macapa, capital of the Amazon state of Amapa where the crime was committed.

Under the Brazilian system there will now be a pause of up to 10 days before the defence witnesses are called.

Slow process

It could be several days or even weeks before the judge gives his sentence after hearing lawyers from each side present their cases.

Six men are on trial although only one of them has actually been charged with murder.

During cross-examination, defence lawyers spent a lot of time trying to establish that the crew had been drunk at the time the accused boarded the vessel to steal what they could find.

The hearing was attended by the ambassador for New Zealand.

Sir Peter was leading a round-the-world expedition to research different eco-systems when he was killed.