Insane husband killed wife

‘‘He did it.’’ Those were the last words spoken by Petra Frank after her husband Simon Harvey Frank – in the grip of a mental disorder – stabbed her twice in the belief that by killing her, he was securing her place in heaven.

Frank, 56, faced one charge of murder at the High Court in Rotorua yesterday, with Justice Pheroze Jagose ruling he was not guilty by reason of insanity.

Petra Frank, 58, was killed on April 14, 2017, at Taupo after the couple travelled from their Wellington home for a weekend away.

Petra Frank, 58, was a kindergarten teacher while her husband had worked as a business analyst.

Citing three separate psychiatric reports, Justice Jagose said yesterday that at the time of the killing Frank was ‘‘incapable of knowing his actions were morally wrong’’.

The court was told that Frank was diagnosed with bi-polar disorder in 1987 and had been on medication ever since, and that his mental wellbeing had deteriorated in the run-up to his wife’s killing.

Jagose revealed that Frank stabbed his wife twice with a carving knife before calling an ambulance. It was while an ambulance officer was attempting to staunch the bleeding that Petra said ‘‘he did it’’.

Frank was remanded in mental health custody for further treatment.

The Waikato man accused of murdering his partner Kim Richmond has a date for trial. Cory Scott Jefferies, 45, appeared for callover at the High Court in Hamilton yesterday, where Justice Sarah Katz scheduled July 23 next year as the start date for a two-week trial. He was remanded on continued bail until that date. His case will be called again on April 10, to check on the availability of ESR evidence, however Jefferies has his attendance excused on that day. Police said Richmond, a mother-ofthree, was last seen at her home in Arohena, near Te Awamutu, in the early hours of July 31, 2016. The police dive squad found Richmond inside her silver Ford Ranger in Arapuni Lake almost a year later on June 15. Jefferies was arrested and charged with Richmond’s murder on June 20.

Pong continues

Ka¯piti Coast residents continue to hold their noses and wait for relief from the putrid pong of rotting velella strewn along their coast. Over the past week-and-a-half, hundreds of thousands, if not millions, of the translucent blue creatures, like jellyfish with sails, had washed-up on beaches stretching up the west coast from Wellington to Taranaki. O¯ taki Beach resident Stephen Upston had been keeping all his windows and doors closed in order to keep out the smell. He said in his seven years living across the road from the beach he had never experienced such an event.