Abused grandma left in terror

A Taranaki grandmother was so frightened by her grandson’s verbal abuse towards her that she cowered until it was safe to flee her own home.

Isaiah Tamati Vaagi Talau had become enraged when his 60-year-old victim refused to hand over her cellphone to him, a police summary of facts outlined.

The July 2 incident, which occurred at a New Plymouth address with three young children present, erupted about 8pm when Talau, 21, confronted his grandmother about relationship issues he was having with his partner.

He demanded his grandmother show him text messages she had received from his partner and despite doing as he asked, Talau, who has previous convictions for violent attacks on women, began to verbally abuse her.

He then demanded she give him her phone so he could contact his partner, but his grandmother refused as she had done this before and not had her phone returned.

This infuriated Talau who then began screaming that he would ‘‘f ****** kill her and her family’’, referring to his partner.

His grandmother waited for him to go outside for a cigarette and then began to pack up clothes for the young children so she could flee the address.

But Talau came back inside and continued to shout abuse at his grandmother, who was in the kitchen at the time.

According to police facts, she became terrified by his aggression.

She ‘‘trembled and cowered’’ in the kitchen until she was able to gather the children and escape from the house.

She took them to her car and sped away without any possessions.

Yesterday, Talau appeared in New Plymouth District Court where he was sentenced on three charges, two of which were for threatening to kill and behaving threateningly.

The third charge was one of male assaults female and it arose from Talau kneeing his partner in the nose, causing it to bleed, at her 21st birthday in July.

Defence lawyer Kylie Pascoe said while initially claiming the physical assault was an accident, her client now admitted the attack. Judge Chris Sygrove described the offending involving Talau’s grandmother as disgraceful, especially considering the ongoing support she had provided him. ‘‘It is unacceptable,’’ he said. Judge Sygrove handed down an end sentence of three months’ home detention for the three charges.

He ordered Talau pay $500 emotional harm reparation to his grandmother.

In early 2017, Talau, who was 19 at the time, was sentenced for a brutal assault on his girlfriend.

Only weeks later, he admitted to targeting her again – with a high degree of violence which left her battered and bruised.

During the hearing, a probation officer told the presiding judge Talau had negative views about women and violence had been a recurring theme for him.