Teen found murder victim on dating site
The 17-year-old woman who arranged the killing of a man for his car after meeting him on Tinder has pleaded guilty to murder.
Rosie Lewis appeared in the High Court at Napier yesterday to plead guilty to murdering Sandeep Dhiman on December 17 last year.
Her co-accused, Shaun Karauria, 17, was sentenced to life in jail last month for his part in the murder of the 30-year-old Indian national.
Lewis met Dhiman on the dating app Tinder sometime last year.
Dhiman gave Lewis a new cellphone on December 16.
Later that day, Lewis told a friend that she and Karauria were planning to take an Indian for a drive and to kill him on the weekend of December 23.
She used him and Dhiman to transport her and friends around Hawke’s Bay.
On the afternoon of December 17 Dhiman agreed to pick up Lewis and a female friend. While he was inside a takeaway store Lewis told her friend that she and Karauria were going to kill him and that she wanted his car, a 2006 Toyota Passo.
Karauria texted Lewis saying ‘‘we have got you a new car then cousin’’ and ‘‘should we take him out to otane haha or out to tutira’’.
Otane is south of Hastings and Tutira is north of Napier.
Dhiman drove Lewis and her friend to his house and cooked them a meal. While eating Lewis continued texting Karauria.
Karauria asked Lewis ‘‘Are we serious about this cous’’, to which Lewis responded ‘‘Yo cousin I am’’.
Karauria sent Lewis a text about his plan to get the car.
He suggested driving Dhiman to Tutira, hopping out and going for a walk. He told Lewis she could grab Dhiman’s keys and pass them to him and they could jump in the car and drive off.
The nature of the text messages escalated from that to Karauria suggesting he ‘‘smash him up then ditch him’’ and to Lewis saying ‘‘And stab him too cousin up to u’’ and ‘‘Yip make sure he can’t get back cous’’.
At 5.45pm Dhiman drove Lewis and her friend home. About 90 minutes later Lewis texted Dhiman asking him to collect her and her ‘‘nephew’’.
Dhiman collected Lewis, Karauria and another male from a Flaxmere address at 8.25pm.
Karauria, who had taken a kitchen knife, sat in the front passenger’s seat while Lewis and the other man sat in the back of Dhiman’s car.
They convinced Dhiman to drive to Tutira, a 40-minute drive north of Napier. As Dhiman drove Lewis and Karauria texted each other about their plan.
Sometime after 9pm the group arrived at a secluded location in Tutira. Karauria got out of the car and walked up a nearby driveway.
Lewis told Dhiman he should go and talk with Karauria.
Dhiman and Karauria climbed over a gate and walked around a small bend in the driveway, out of sight of the car.
It was here that Karauria took out the knife and stabbed Dhiman nine times in the back, throat, heart and chest.
Karauria returned to the car while the badly injured Dhiman managed to climb back over the gate and stagger back to the road.
He cried out for help before collapsing on the grass verge.
Karauria returned to Dhiman and kicked him in the head and stomped on his face until he thought he was dead.
The other male then removed two cellphones from Dhiman’s pockets. Then Karauria drove off.
But Lewis said she saw Dhiman move, so Karauria reversed the car, got out and stomped on his face again until he stopped moving.
They drove back to Karauria’s house. The next morning, December 18, Karauria put a message on social media asking if anyone wanted to buy a car for $1500.
Meanwhile, Dhiman’s body had been found. That evening the other male went to police and told them what had occurred.
Lewis will be sentenced in July.
Rosie Lewis appeared in the High Court at Napier yesterday to plead guilty to murder.