Man admits strangling woman, slashing throat
CHRISTCHURCH: A brutal killer yesterday admitted strangling and slashing the throat of a Dunedinbornandbred life coach but has been granted interim name suppression.
The 55yearold murderer lay in wait for eight hours overnight before Nicole ‘‘Nicky’’ Marie Tuxford (27) arrived back at her Merivale home on April 7 this year.
The High Court at Christchurch heard a chilling summary of facts after the man pleaded guilty to murder yesterday.
When Ms Tuxford entered her Exeter St home, the man pounced on her.
Her screams were heard by neighbours as he overpowered her and took her captive in a spare bedroom. He pulled the curtains and shut the door.
An electrician then turned up for a scheduled appointment and walked around the house trying to see if anyone was home.
Ms Tuxford tried to fight off the assailant and bite him, while he punched her in the face.
Trying to silence her and keep her from alerting the electrician, who could hear muffled noises coming from inside the house, the man gagged her with a scarf.
The man then strangled her, breaking her thyroid cartilage, before he cut her throat several times, ‘‘almost severing her head from her body’’, the court heard.
The killer took off in her car wearing one of her hats.
He then had a medical event or seizure and crashed nearby. Unresponsive, he was taken to hospital.
Meanwhile, the electrician returned to the Exeter St house, worried about Ms Tuxford.
He climbed in through a window and found her dead on the floor.
The electrician phoned police and they caught up with the man at Christchurch Hospital, where he admitted the killing.
The court heard how the pair had known each other for about a year before the murder.
They had socialised together in the same circles and Ms Tuxford told her mother that she ‘‘felt sorry for him’’ and wanted to help him out with some life coaching.
But earlier this year, the man said he wanted a sexual relation ship. Ms Tuxford’s own life coach suggested that she pull away and reduce contact with the man.
On March 24, she invited him over for a chat and a drink for a set period of 90 minutes.
The man told her he wanted to spend more time with her but she made it clear it would only be for that timeframe.
Two days later, the man sent her a text message saying that he had found out she was in a relationship with another male and that he felt ‘‘p . . . . . off’’ and lied to.
On April 6, Ms Tuxford stayed at her partner’s house across town.
Meanwhile, her killer spent the night drinking at his local bar.
About 9pm, he drove to Ms Tuxford’s house. She did not reply to his text messages or pick up his calls. On the way, the man was stopped by a police booze bus and failed a drinkdrive test.
Police took his keys and he was issued a court summons.
The man got a taxi to Ms Tuxford’s house and lay in wait for the next eight hours.
When she got home about 7.40am, the man attacked.
Ms Tuxford’s family were ‘‘broken’’ by her death.
‘‘Nicky was a funny, bubbly character who lit up a room with her personality and made other people laugh. She loved people and had ambitions to work as a counsellor so she could help others,’’ they said in a statement.
She had spent two years training to become a life coach at the Christchurch Phoenix Light Foundation, ‘‘a spiritual and metaphysical training academy for those who wish to start their own spiritual/selfdevelopment business’’, according to its website.
Foundation director Phyllis Brown said Ms Tuxford had become a ‘‘Reiki Master Practitioner’’ through her courses. Reiki is a form of alternative medicine involving ‘‘laying on hands’’ and based on the concept of an ‘‘unseen life force energy’’ flowing through all humans, according to the International Centre for Reiki Training.
Ms Brown described Ms Tuxford as a ‘‘very private’’ woman, and said teachers and students at the foundation were devastated by her death, and she would be sorely missed.
‘‘Nicky was just a really lovely, very gentle soul,’’ Ms Brown said.
‘‘She had such a deep wisdom. She would always come away with some really profound insights into the human soul.
‘‘She was just the nicest, kindest, softest, most gentle person I’ve met in a long time,’’ she said.
Detective Inspector Darryl Sweeney said he was satisfied the man was dealt with correctly by the staff running the alcohol checkpoint.
‘‘Those experienced staff did not and could not know of his intentions when he left the checkpoint,’’ he said.
‘‘His behaviour at the time gave no cause for concern, and there is no test which can predict human behaviour in these circumstances.
‘‘I know, however, that the staff involved at the checkpoint have been deeply affected by Nicole’s death.
‘‘Police are continuing to support the Tuxford family at this very difficult time and our thoughts remain with them as they grieve for Nicole.’’ — NZME