Wellington - A New Zealand court was told that a man was killed with an axe as he walked home from a party because he was wearing a red hooded sweatshirt, according to a news report Tuesday.

The prosecution alleged that the killers of Paul Shane Kumeroa, 28, were members of the Black Power gang who attacked him because red is associated with the rival Mongrel Mob.

In fact, the Wanganui District Court heard Monday, Kumeroa was not a member of the Mongrel Mob and was unwittingly walking home through an area the Black Power gang considered its territory.

Three men, ages 35, 23 and 18, and two women, ages 23 and 20, were appearing at a pretrial hearing jointly charged with unlawful assembly and murder. (dpa)