Murdered man nearly died in 1998 attack
A man allegedly murdered in Christchurch during the early hours of New Year’s Day had a previous brush with death at the same time of year in Taranaki 22 years ago.
Just hours into 1998, Kane Alan Wayman was repeatedly stabbed and had his carotid artery cut during an attack by two men at a New Plymouth hotel in what police later described as a premeditated attack. His assailants were charged with attempted murder and one was later jailed for five years when he pleaded guilty to a charge of wounding with intent to cause grievous bodily harm.
On January 1, 2021, a woman driving a white Mercedes left Wayman
46, outside Christchurch Hospital in a critical condition.
He had suffered serious head injuries and died soon after.
Four people have been charged with Wayman’s murder. All have interim name suppression.
Wayman was associated with the Head Hunters MC gang, and it is believed he had gone to a party at the South Island headquarters of gang rivals the Mongols MC the night he was killed.
The father of one spent time in Taranaki during the 1990s. Grant Coward, the former head of the New Plymouth CIB, said he immediately recalled Wayman when he saw a news report on his death. Wayman, who had served jail time for drug and sex offending, was no stranger to encounters with the law, he said. Coward said Wayman had a ‘‘tough exterior but ... was a reasonable man to deal with’’. A friend of Wayman, who declined to be named, said she was invited to the Mongols party but couldn’t go.
The woman, who had known Wayman for about 12 years, said he was the ‘‘kindest teddy bear’’ and would be dearly missed by his daughter, family and friends.
In 2006, Wayman was a key witness in Jule Patrick Burns’ trial for the murder of Christchurch sex worker Suzie Sutherland in 2005.
Burns, a South African immigrant, was found guilty and sentenced to life imprisonment with a minimum 17-year nonparole period.
The four people charged with Wayman’s murder have been remanded to reappear in the High Court at Christchurch on February 4.