‘If she’s going to die, I’ll die with her’ – suspect
A man charged with murdering his expartner was allegedly heard saying he would ‘‘die with her’’ as she lay bleeding to death.
Police were called to Ilam Rd in Christchurch on Saturday night after a 28-year-old woman and her 31-year-old partner were allegedly stabbed by the man, who then used the knife on himself.
A witness told The Press the man lay beside his ex-partner, trying to hold her hand after stabbing her.
‘‘[He said] ‘That’s my wife. If she’s going to die, I’ll die with her’,’’ the witness, who did not want to be named, said.
The Press understands the woman left work at Ilam Lifecare when she and her partner were confronted by her expartner. The 52-year-old allegedly stabbed the couple before stabbing himself in the stomach.
The witness was driving along Ilam Rd when he saw part of the altercation.
He got out of his car and rushed to the scene to find the woman lying on her back beside her alleged attacker. He and other passersby attended to the victims until emergency services arrived. The woman died at the scene.
Ilam Lifecare manager Maurice David earlier confirmed the woman worked at the retirement home.
Yesterday, he said she had ‘‘made a lot of friends’’ during her two years there and would be ‘‘sadly missed’’.
‘‘She was just a lovely, young lady. She always had a smile on her face and never had a bad word to say about anybody.’’
Her colleagues were ‘‘distraught’’, he said.
‘‘We’ve met with staff and we’ve got support mechanisms in place for them.’’
Detective Senior Sergeant Scott Anderson said the two men remained in hospital in serious but stable conditions.
The 52-year-old had been charged with murder and wounding with intent to cause grievous bodily harm.
Senior Sergeant Greg Cottam said the scene examination on Ilam Rd was finished yesterday and police were searching a home in Kirkwood Ave yesterday afternoon.
‘‘I encourage anyone who is struggling with a relationship breakdown to seek help from organisations such as Women’s Refuge, Shine National Helpline, It’s Not Ok and men’s support groups to prevent tragic circumstances such as these,’’ he said in a statement.
The alleged offender was granted name suppression in the Christchurch District Court yesterday to give time to tell people of his arrest. He did not appear in court.
Defence counsel Andrew McCormick said the man was ‘‘physically fairly weary’’ and was likely to stay in Christchurch Hospital all week.
No application was made for bail and the man was remanded in custody by consent to appear in the High Court on October 5. Judge Tony Couch ordered that there must be an application for a suppression order before that appearance.
McCormick sent an email memorandum to the judge ahead of the hearing seeking interim suppression on the grounds of ‘‘hardship to other people’’. The order would give time for him to ascertain ‘‘whether those grounds do exist’’.