Killer grandmother burnt out
A Whanganui ‘‘Nan’’ lured her 13-year-old granddaughter into a sleepout to strangle her with a necktie after a series of arguments, including about taking the girl’s phone and laptop.
Lorraine Smith wept throughout the hearing yesterday, overwhelmed with grief and remorse, where she learned she will spend her 60th birthday on Sunday in prison starting a 12-year sentence.
In the High Court at Wellington, Justice Francis Cooke spared her from a life jail term. She will be eligible for parole after serving six years of the sentence.
The appropriateness of the sentence will be referred to Crown Law for review, as is usual when a sentence less than life imprisonment is imposed for murder.
The judge said Smith had an extremely difficult life, but devoted it to caring for others at the detriment of her own health. Her grandchildren had mental health problems and her own children had serious disabilities, including one son who had died since Smith went into custody for killing her granddaughter Kalis Smith.
The judge said Smith had been overwhelmed, but the vulnerability of Kalis and an element of premeditation meant he had to impose a minimum term greater than the one-third she would otherwise have to serve before being considered for parole.
‘‘You have had an extremely difficult life and been required to carry a heavy burden. In the end the circumstances overwhelmed you and you took the life of one of those you had committed to care for,’’ he said.
Crown prosecutor Michele Wilkinson-smith had said there was room for mercy, but the court couldn’t lose sight of the fact a 13-year-old girl had lost her life in circumstances that would have been terrifying for her.
Defence lawyer Peter Brosnahan said Smith felt intense remorse and would carry that throughout her life. She gave so much to others that she had run out of anything for herself. Even on the rare times she had help through respite care, she always felt compelled to stay with her family.
Kalis died in a sleepout at their Niblett St, Whanganui, home on March 15. A police summary said there had been a series of arguments during the early evening.
They argued again when Smith went to take her electronic devices off her. Kalis threatened to run away.
According to the summary, during the evening Kalis was heard to say, ‘‘Let go of me. Stop pushing me down. I can’t breathe. I can’t breathe’’.
Smith had replied: ‘‘You want to die anyway, don’t you?’’.
But later Smith asked Kalis to help her close windows in a sleepout. Smith grabbed a neck tie as they left the house.
Kalis was wearing the hood up on her sweatshirt, and from behind Smith pulled it over her face and then to the side, wrapped the tie around Kalis’ neck and held it as tight as she could.
Police said Kalis struggled and fought back, but Smith was stronger and when Kalis fell to her knees Smith pulled her back and left her lying on the sleepout floor.
Smith was also raising another grandchild whose identity was suppressed. Smith told him she needed to go to the hospital and she was taking Kalis with her.
She drove to the hospital, phoned her son, who was Kalis’ father, told him she had done something and he had to call the police.
Smith then rang 111 and said that she had killed her granddaughter.
She then took an overdose of anti-depressant medication and went into the hospital and told staff what had happened.
Kalis’ father discovered her body and he was still doing CPR when police arrived.
Later Smith told police she and Kalis had argued about Kalis’ attitude.
She told police she had previously asked for help because she was so tired.
‘‘She said she’d had enough of the arguing and the victim’s attitude, and wanted everything to stop,’’ police said.
She decided to kill Kalis in the sleepout so Kalis’ brother would not see it. Kalis wouldn’t have seen what was coming when they were in the sleepout, she said.
She was stronger than Kalis, pulled the tie as hard as she could and at the end checked Kalis had stopped breathing.
Smith told police she had no excuse for what she did and was remorseful.
She had no previous convictions.
Smith’s guilty plea on May 22 caused disquiet, with members of her family and others asking her to reconsider her admission of having murdered Kalis. They wanted the circumstances to be aired at a trial.
The judge acknowledged people found the guilty plea difficult to comprehend. He was given statements talking about the difficult life she had, with more than its share of tragedy. She had ‘‘turned herself inside out’’ looking for help for her grandchildren.
The law says that a person convicted of murder should be sentenced to life imprisonment unless that was clearly unjust due to the circumstances of the offence or the offender. A person sentenced to life imprisonment is eligible to be considered for release on life parole after serving 10 years, or such other longer minimum term the court imposed.
‘‘You have had an extremely difficult life, and been required to carry a heavy burden. In the end the circumstances overwhelmed you and you took the life of one of those you had committed to care for.’’ Justice Francis Cooke