Accused didn’t ‘intend to kill her’

A man who brutally bashed his partner later phoned police and said: ‘‘I have killed her with my hands and feet. I have beaten her and killed her,’’ the High Court at Rotorua has heard.

James William Te Hiko, 44, is charged with the murder of Queenie Karaka, also known as Selena Thompson, at his home near Atiamuri in April last year.

The Waikato man admits causing her death but denies he intended for her to die.

Crown prosecutor Amanda Gordon said the assault was so brutal and sustained that Te Hiko must have known Thompson, known to friends as ‘‘Nina’’, would not survive.

She said the pair had been in an on-off relationship since 2014 and the night before the incident they’d been drinking with friends and family at Ongaroto Marae village.

The next morning Te Hiko phoned his mother, crying and mumbling, and said ‘‘I did it’’.

He then phoned a police officer from Tokoroa and said he’d beaten and killed his partner.

When his brother came to his house from the home next door, he said: ‘‘I couldn’t stop, I’m sorry Nina, I couldn’t stop brother’’ over and over.

When his brother went into a bedroom to see if Thompson was still alive, her face was so badly bruised he didn’t recognise her.

Gordon said blood was found throughout the house but mostly in the couple’s bedroom, including up the walls.

Thompson must have been lying on the ground for some of the attack and had defensive injuries on her arms and bruises to almost every part of her body. Chunks of her hair were found throughout the house and even outside below a window.

A large metal pipe was also used in the attack - it was found to have the victim’s blood and hair on it.

Te Hiko ‘‘left her to die in the bed’’ and meanwhile had a shower and changed his clothes, attempting to mop up the blood with towels.

Gordon said Te Hiko told his sister he had beaten up his partner ’’because she told him she’d been mucking around on him’’.

Defence lawyer Harry Edward said his client accepted he had caused Thompson’s death but was not acting recklessly and didn’t know his actions would kill her.

‘‘He’s not trying to say he’s done nothing wrong, he’s saying I did something horrible ... but I did not intend to kill her.’’

There were 13 family harm incidents for the week which resulted in two arrests.

The causes behind many of these incidents have been finance related so we suggest people seek help through the likes of Work and Income and Budget Advisory. Burglaries There was one burglary of a storage shed which was pretty much empty anyway so nothing was really taken. Drink drivers Three drink drivers were stopped over the weekend.

Again these people have failed to plan how they are going to get home before they started drinking.they were in the lower range and received instant fines.

It doesn’t take much to be over the 250 micrograms of alcohol per litre of breath limit, one or two drinks at the most and you are over, which seems to catch a lot of people out so people need to take that into consideration. Hunting The Roar has begun which means it’s a good time to ensure you have got safety up to scratch.

It only takes a split second for things to go horribly wrong. Check your fire zone, make sure everyone is accounted for, and clearly identify your target.

*Senior Sergeant Jason Henderson

‘‘He left her to die in the bed.’’