Supermarket stabber gets 13 years’ jail
A MAN’S frenzied, random attack in a Dunedin supermarket ‘‘shocked the nation’’ but it remains unclear why he unleashed such carnage.
Luke James Lambert was yesterday jailed for 13 years on four counts of attempted murder following the horrific incident on May 10 last year.
At the sentencing in the High Court at Dunedin, Justice Jonathan Eaton said the offending was ‘‘violence on a scale rarely seen in New Zealand’’ and imposed a minimum nonparole period of six and ahalf years.
In the aftermath of the attack, Lambert claimed witches had told him to ‘‘make a blood bath’’.
Later, though, he said he could not remember his actions.
The death of his mother in 2018 and the subsequent deaths of his dogs were significant turning points in his life, Lambert said.
‘‘Ultimately it’s just not possible to make a determinative finding as to the motivation for this offending,’’ Justice Eaton said.
‘‘Your offending shocked the nation . . . that noone was killed was miraculous.’’
Outside court, Jorge Fuenzalida paid tribute to his wife Vanessa MillerAndrews who, like him, was severely injured by Lambert.
‘‘If my wife hadn’t intervened [to stop] the attacker from stabbing me, I would be dead. She’s my hero,’’ he said.
In his victim impact statement, Mr Fuenzalida described the moment he locked eyes with Lambert.
‘‘I could see in your face that you wanted to kill me. You were on a mission to kill people that day and I was at your mercy.’’
Ms MillerAndrews remained worried Lambert was capable of further random violence.
‘‘Luke is a dangerous man and needs to be off the streets for the safety of the public. I’m concerned when he’s released he’ll have another day and history will repeat itself,’’ she said in her statement.
On the day of the attack, Lambert first entered Countdown Dunedin Central shortly after noon and tried to buy beer, but his card was declined.
An associate saw him in the Octagon ‘‘agitated and pacing around’’ and he claimed he was not being given his medication — a suggestion refuted by subsequent inquiries by police.
‘‘Someone is going to get it,’’ the defendant said.
The CCTV footage of the incident was suppressed from public dissemination by Justice Eaton but he allowed it to be played for media after the hearing.
It clarified just how incredibly quickly the incident unfolded — 90 frenetic seconds.
The video showed Lambert walking purposely down the pharmacy aisle, sidestepping a woman with two young children and calmly opening a multipack of knives.
He armed himself with two of them, took off his backpack and strode over to a nearby staff member.
Putting his hand on her shoulder, Lambert spun her around and inflicted the first of many injuries, slicing the left side of her face.
As he pushed her backwards, he deliberately tripped her and the pair crashed to the floor, knocking a display shelf over.
The victim tried to protect herself while Lambert continued the stabbing frenzy and the first of many shoppers jumped in to attempt to end the violence.
One of the store’s senior managers Dallas Wilson pulled the defendant off his colleague but appeared unaware he was being stabbed in the process.
When Lambert broke away, he turned his attention to Mr Fuenzalida and his wife, alternating his slashing between them.
Within seconds, two offduty police officers entered the fray.
A woman, assisted by store staff, pinned Lambert down with a chair while a male officer threw bottles of cleaning products at the man’s head in a desperate bid to subdue him.
The female officer, in a statement released by police, said she was alerted to the mayhem by ‘‘the type of screaming that makes your stomach sink’’.
‘‘I could see the offender and I initially thought he was punching at people due to how fast he was moving his arms but then I saw the knife in his right hand . . . He was intentionally going for people’s necks,’’ she said.
The magnitude of the violence quickly became clear as blood covered large areas of the floor and visibly pooled under Mr Fuenzalida as first aid was frantically applied.
Counsel John Westgate stressed Lambert, who had no violence convictions, was suffering from severe mental health issues at the time of the events.
He said the violence was not personal.
‘‘On that day he snapped . . . he was at a crisis point,’’ he said.
Lambert received compassion from an unlikely source — the first woman he attacked, who was granted permanent name suppression.
‘‘The thing that really gets me is the offender singled me out — a woman; a woman with my back turned . . . completely vulnerable.
‘‘He didn’t choose a man his size, he chose me,’’ she said.
‘‘I just hope you get the help that you need. But I’m not angry at you, and I forgive you.’’