Long delay after teen killer flees
Police and Oranga Tamariki defend wait after young murder’s escape
Teenage convicted murderer Haami Hanara smashed through a reinforced window at a South Auckland Youth Justice Facility and traversed a roof before escaping via the staff carpark — and police were not alerted until 40 minutes after he was noticed missing.
And it has been confirmed he had been gone for an hour and 20 minutes before his absence was picked up.
Hanara, 16, and Sean Ratu, 17, escaped from the Auckland youth justice facility Korowai Manaaki on Saturday evening.
Staff there noticed the pair were gone at 9.30pm.
However, the police were not called until about 10.10pm.
The pair have been described as “dangerous” and a significant effort is under way to return them to custody.
Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern said she was concerned a teenaged murder was able to escape from custody.
Officials are looking into how that happened, she said.
In February last year Hanara — then 15 — was jailed for life with a minimum nonparole period of 10 years for murdering Kelly Donner, 40.
A High Court jury heard how he stabbed Donner four times in the neck, chest and shoulder — on March 4, 2018.
Police made the escape public on Sunday night — about an hour after the Herald sought details from Oranga Tamariki. Both police and OT are justifying the almost 24-hour delay in alerting the public to the escape.
But OT deputy chief executive of youth justice services Allan Boreham said he was “very concerned”.
“We are still investigating the timing and details but can confirm our staff searched the perimeter and called the police when the teenagers could not be found.”
The Herald understands that when police were alerted officers searched again at the facility and Fire and Emergency staff were brought in to help look on the rooftops.
A source said the incident was captured on CCTV.
Boreham said neither teen had escaped from a youth justice residence in the past — but Ratu had absconded from a community-based facility.