‘Sheer evil’ murderers stole mother’s future
CHRISTCHURCH: Angela Blackmoore’s ‘‘sheer evil’’ murderers stole a young mother’s bright future and the life of her unborn baby, the High Court has heard.
David Hawken and Rebecca WrightMeldrum yesterday received life sentences for their roles in the Christchurch slaying almost 30 years ago.
Hawken, 51, received a nonparole period of 10 years, while WrightMeldrum, 51, will also serve at least 10 years behind bars.
Ms Blackmoore was bludgeoned and stabbed 39 times in her Wainoni home while her 2yearold son slept in a nearby room on August 17, 1995.
The 21yearold was pregnant with her second child.
Her friends and family waited almost 25 years for answers, until Jeremy Powell confessed to the killing in 2019.
The cold case breakthrough led to Powell’s life imprisonment a year later and police laying charges against Hawken and WrightMeldrum.
Powell was a key crown witness in the fourweek trial late last year.
He told the court Hawken ordered Ms Blackmoore’s murder and offered $10,000 to him and his thengirlfriend WrightMeldrum to carry out the hit.
Ms Blackmoore’s partner at the time of her murder, Laurie Anderson, yesterday told the High Court Hawken and WrightMeldrum had robbed Ms Blackmoore of her future, robbed him of the love of his life and robbed Ms Blackmoore’s young son of his mother.
‘‘I used to rub her tummy at night knowing we were making this beautiful baby,’’ Mr Anderson said.
‘‘We were planning all the things we were going to do together as a family.’’
Hawken’s evil plans had destroyed the life Ms Blackmoore had worked to build after turning her life around, Mr Anderson said.
‘‘If it wasn’t for you, Angela would have been happy and getting on with her new life. If I could, I would let you rot in jail for the rest of your life . . . you are sheer evil.’’
Their decision to keep their roles in Ms Blackmoore’s murder secret meant many of her loved ones including her parents had died without knowing the truth of her death, Mr Anderson said.
‘‘I will always miss Angela. She’s the love that will never leave me.’’
Ms Black moore’s son, who was 2yearsold at the time of her murder, said his mother’s death and the circumstances which led to it had robbed him of a normal life.
It was especially distressing knowing he had been robbed of the chance of being a brother to Ms Blackmoore’s unborn child.
‘‘Vengeance for my fallen brother is best served by a lifelong hell,’’ his victim impact statement said.
Ms Blackmoore’s cousin Jill Purvis asked WrightMeldrum how she could betray the trust of a friend.
‘‘What made you think you had the right to take part in the murder of a young mum?’’ she said.
‘‘How dare you betray a friend in such a cruel way.
‘‘Angie’s life was worth more than any amount of money.’’
Another cousin, Leanne Keen, said she had dedicated her life to bring those responsible for Ms Blackmoore’s murder to justice since she was a teenager.
‘‘I’m disgusted by your lack of remorse and your attitudes while sitting in the dock, shaking your heads while evidence was being presented against you,’’ she told the two murderers.
‘‘You are stealers of life. ‘‘Rot in hell the pair of you. ‘‘The pain, anger and stress you have put us through has been hard to contend with.
‘‘I really haven’t got the words to describe it.’’ Mr Anderson’s niece, Stacey Brosnan, said the pair had ‘‘destroyed so many lives and you just don’t care’’.
‘‘Angela and baby may be gone, but she will never be forgotten,’’ she said.
‘‘You may have taken her away, but you will never take the memories away.’’
Powell told the jury in Hawken and WrightMeldrum’s trial that Hawken threatened to kill his family if he did not murder Ms Blackmoore, and boasted about his numerous gang connections. Powell said he was reluctant to carry out the killing but eventually succumbed to Hawken’s threats. Powell explained he killed Ms Blackmoore several days later and felt panicked before, during and after her murder.
‘‘I remember hitting her two or three times with a bat. I remember the bat breaking,’’ Powell said. He said he hit her with a bat first because he wanted to knock her out ‘‘so that she wouldn’t feel anything’’. ‘‘I didn’t want to hurt her,’’ he said. WrightMeldrum who was a friend of the Ms Blackmoore, was described by the prosecution as essential in securing access to the Wainoni property on the night of the murder. Hawken never paid him after the killing, Powell said.
It took the jury two days of deliberations to decide on Hawken and WrightMeldrum’s guilt.