Killer jailed, with no parole, for 18 years
A butcher who brutally murdered a Christchurch sex worker has been jailed for at least 18 years.
Sainey Marong, 33, was sentenced in the High Court at Christchurch yesterday to life imprisonment with the 18-year non-parole period for the murder of Renee Duckmanton.
The Crown said the killing was driven by his ‘‘unhealthy desire for necrophilia’’.
Marong strangled 22-year-old Duckmanton during a dispute after having sex in the back of his car on May 14, 2016.
He dumped her body on the side of a rural Rakaia road the following day and set her on fire. A passerby found her burnt body.
Duckmanton’s mother, Tracy, reading a victim impact statement in court, told Marong she hoped he would ‘‘rot in hell’’.
She described Renee as ‘‘beautiful, goofy, bubbly, loving, sweet, trusting, and naı¨ve’’. She had suffered cerebral palsy at birth which made her vulnerable physically and emotionally as she grew up.
Her death had ‘‘devastated my life and my family’s life’’, she said. ‘‘Nothing will ever be the same.’’
Renee’s grandmother, Patricia Duckmanton, said her granddaughter had been ‘‘precious to so many people’’. Despite the pain, they had fond memories of her. To her nieces and nephews ‘‘she was their funny, young, goofy auntie’’.
Family members remarked that Marong showed no remorse and demanded that he look at them as they read victim impact statements.
CCTV footage and cellphone tracking
"It won't bring Renee back but at least we get some closure." Tracy Duckmanton, Renee's mother
showed Marong, who is from Gambia, was with Duckmanton when she went missing.
His DNA was found on a lighter and a beanie at the spot where Duckmanton’s body was dumped and burned, and her hair was found on the back seat of his car.
In the weeks leading up to Duckmanton’s death, Marong searched what chemicals kidnappers used, how to kidnap someone, escorts, necrophilia, how to track a phone and videos relating to kidnapping and raping girls.
He visited a pornography website for videos involving necrophilia and read stories and Wikipedia entries about the murders of Christchurch prostitutes Suzie Sutherland in 2005 and Mellory Manning in 2008.
In defending the murder charge, Marong claimed he was suffering from a ‘‘disease of the mind’’ when he killed Duckmanton. The jury rejected this.
Justice Cameron Mander described the murder as ‘‘particularly callous and cruel’’ before he jailed Marong.
Family of the victim shouted abuse at Marong as he was led away. One man tried to rush the dock, but was stopped.
Crown prosecutor Pip Currie pointed to the Ilam butcher’s planning and his internet searches about murder, kidnapping, and necrophilia before the murder.
She told Justice Cameron Mander that Marong had conducted detailed and determined searches about how to kill someone, and about his ‘‘unhealthy and unpleasant’’ interest in necrophilia.
Currie said: ‘‘The intention to kill was directly related to this unhealthy desire for necrophilia. There are no charges but it is clear that sexual activity took place.’’
‘‘It would appear the inference to be drawn is that the defendant killed Renee to carry out a sexual fantasy or desire. It is a clear inference from the fixation on necrophilia that this is what he was interested in,’’ she said.
Justice Mander said: ‘‘There is a lingering question of whether sexual intercourse took place before or after the murder. The Crown acknowledges that because it cannot prove that aspect, it must be put to one side.’’
He said it had been a callous and cruel murder. His premeditation involved deliberate strangulation to leave the victim’s body intact for his ‘‘depraved motivation to kill’’.
His depraved aim was to kill a sex worker to fulfil some sexual ambition, the judge said.
Defence counsel Jonathan Krebs repeated the defence at the trial that Marong’s actions needed to be seen through the lens of mental illness. ‘‘He accepted he caused the death, but he did so at a time when he was insane. The jury plainly rejected that.’’
He pointed to evidence that Marong had not been taking his insulin for his diabetes for three or four weeks, and a doctor’s evidence was that hypoglycaemia could have an effect on the mind. Marong’s internet searches had been becoming more and more bizarre over that time.
Outside court, Tracy Duckmanton said she was happy with the sentence and pleased Marong would never be a free man in New Zealand again.
‘‘It won’t bring Renee back but at least we get some closure.’’