Child killer’s kids ‘needdaddy home’
A man who killed his daughter by shooting her in the head will live with his actions for the rest of his life, the child’s mother says.
‘‘His punishment from now on, and since that day, was his daughter’s death,’’ Julia Daniels told the High Court in Auckland on Thursday.
Gustav Otto Sanft was sentenced to four years and four months imprisonment for the June 2016 manslaughter of 2-yearold Amokura Daniels-Sanft. He was holding a gun when it fired, shattering her skull. His sentence was handed down by Justice Geoffrey Venning, who slammed Sanft for not taking full responsibility for his daughter’s death. Earlier, Julia Daniels, Sanft’s partner and Amokura’s mother, gave a moving victim impact statement, telling the court their daughter was their angel.
‘‘I know Gustav will forever regret his actions that day, as we will too. We will always mourn the loss of our Amokura.’’
Daniels pleaded with the court for Sanft to be spared a jail sentence.
‘‘I know people want to see Gustav punished for this accident, I see it everyday in him that he punishes himself. All I can ask is have mercy on Gustav. Our babies need their daddy at home, that is where he belongs.’’
Daniels’ father, Phillip Daniels, said his relationship with Sanft had been strained leading up to his offending.
‘‘I was physically and emotionally distraught and in utter confusion in the circumstances of this tragic event.’’
Since Amokura’s death, Phillip Daniels said a Maori reconciliation ritual had been completed forgiving Sanft for his actions.
‘‘I know Gustav will forever regret his actions that day, as we will too,’’ he said.
At trial, Sanft told the court his daughter was playing on a couch in the driveway prior to her death. He had been holding the gun, and was planning on throwing it away. Somehow, Sanft explained, the gun had ‘‘exploded’’ and the shot had hit Amokura. Justice Venning told the court on Thursday he did not buy the argument the gun had exploded, or that Sanft was plan- ning on throwing away the gun.
‘‘Your denial you pulled the trigger is something you have latched onto, perhaps to help explain to yourself, and others, the terrible consequences of that morning,’’ he said. Venning told Sanft he thought his remorse was a reflection of his own self pity.