Guilty plea in Kiwi’s murder

Lionel Patea has pleaded guilty to the murder of his former partner, New Zealand-born Tara Brown on Australia’s Gold Coast, on the first day of his trial.

Patea bludgeoned Brown, 24, to death with a metal fire hydrant cover after he ran her car off a suburban street in September 2015.

He was to stand trial in the Brisbane Supreme Court yesterday.

The court was standing room only with dozens of Brown’s family and friends attending.

Brown had just dropped her daughter at daycare when Patea chased down her hatchback in a four-wheel-drive.

Patea rammed the back of her car, forcing the vehicle down an embankment where it overturned, trapping her inside.

He used the metal slab from the side of the road to repeatedly bash her in the head, causing ‘‘nonsurvivable’’ brain injuries.

Nearby residents who heard the crash originally thought Patea was trying to free Brown and helped him break a window to get to her.

When they realised what he was doing and tried to stop him, he fought them off.