Life term for man who shot tourist in front of fiancee
Sean McKinnon would help anyone – even a stranger knocking on his campervan in the middle of the night.
But that stranger, Mark Ronald Garson, shot McKinnon twice, in front of his fiancee, Bianca Buckley, and even as McKinnon tried to comply with his demands.
Garson threatened to kill Buckley, and wouldn’t let her kiss her dying fiance before driving off with him.
The crimes were committed in August 2019, near Raglan, and
Garson was yesterday sentenced to life in prison in the High Court at Hamilton.
Garson, 24, was at Te Toto Gorge for his arranged suicide, defence lawyer Charles Bean said. He was stranded when a friend he was consuming methamphetamine with left in the car, so he headed for the campervan.
Buckley addressed Garson directly in court, saying: ‘‘I was stunned that a human being could do what you had just done before my eyes. I didn’t get a single moment to sit with my love.’’
Garson took away a giver, an artist, a musician, and a beautiful spirit, Buckley said.
Sean McKinnon was one of six siblings who grew up in a home with violence and alcohol, his sister Emmeline McKinnon said. She was devastated to lose the gentle-natured little brother who had beaten the odds.
‘‘Sean would have had 1000 reasons to choose a life of crime,’’ another sister, Mary McKinnon, said, ‘‘but he chose love. Sean helped complete strangers, and he would have been trying to do that when he died.’’
Two more of McKinnon’s siblings – Jessica and Lachlan – and close friend Wayne Such also read their statements.
Crown prosecutor Jacinda Hamilton said the murder was an explosive violent episode.
‘‘There was a high level of callousness. This man effectively executed Mr McKinnon when Mr McKinnon was doing all that he could to assist him.’’
What happened was a genuine tragedy, Bean said, but Garson’s methamphetamine addiction and mental health issues provided context.
Garson had made multiple attempts to end his life in the weeks leading up to the shooting, and was seen by a crisis team after his arrest. He hoped to complete rehabilitation and to help others, Bean said.
Garson’s callous act happened in a campervan which should have been a sanctuary for McKinnon and Buckley, Justice Gordon said.
Garson had said he was hallucinating and hearing voices at the time.
Justice Christine Gordon imposed a minimum prison sentence of 151⁄ years, after giving dis
2 counts for Garson’s guilty pleas and personal factors.
He was sentenced to three years in prison for threatening to kill Buckley, to be served concurrently.