Son kills sleeping dad with claw hammer
A Waikato teenager who smashed in the back of his sleeping father’s head with a claw hammer has been jailed for life, with a minimum non-parole period of 11 years and six months.
Jack Kaea, who is now 20, was sentenced in the High Court in Hamilton yesterday morning, after earlier admitting a single charge of murdering 48-year-old Raymond Kaea of Kihikihi, on December 15 last year.
Police were called to a home in Hazelmere Cres about 6.15am that morning, following reports of an altercation.
Raymond Kaea was pronounced dead at the scene.
As the court was told, the killing was done in revenge. Events which led to Jack Kaea making the decision to kill his father have been permanently suppressed by Justice Timothy Brewer.
Raymond Kaea was asleep at the time on a couch in the home, which belonged to his on-again, off-again partner. Jack Kaea snuck in through an open window at the rear of the house about 6am, after first placating two barking dogs at the rear of the property.
After making sure it was his father on the couch, Jack Kaea struck him about five times on the back of his head.
The sound of the blows woke the victim’s partner and she yelled at Jack Kaea to get out.
Startled, the teen fled from the house via the front door, got into his car, and took off.
He drove across town, and headed north.
As he crossed the Mangapiko Stream, he threw the hammer out the window.
He then drove to an associate’s home, and then to his sister’s house in Kihikihi, where he worked out for a time.
He was later contacted by his mother, telling him his father had been found dead. He went to his mother’s house in Pokuru to spend time with whā nau and await the arrival of the police.
Jack Kaea told the police he had had a rough year. He later told a Corrections Department pre-sentence report writer he was deeply ashamed of his actions and the hurt he had caused so many people, and he wished he had sought help for his anger against his father.
The summary of facts on the case reveals it was not the first time Jack Kaea had attacked his father.
Two days before, he had gone to the house in Kihikihi, taking the hammer with him as he intended to kill his father that day.
Although he drove Raymond Kaea to a local cemetery, intending to kill him there, he could not follow through with it.
Instead, he drove his father back to the house where a violent altercation occurred.
Jack Kaea punched the older man in the face and head about 20 times, including punching him at least once in the head through an internal wall lining.