Murder trial as family welcomes new member
Widow gives birth after husband’s death
Three-week-old Olliver Ramsay is a carbon copy of his father, Jacob Ramsay. But tragically the two will never meet. On July 31, the 33-year-old Taranaki farm worker was found dead at his rural property on Upper Kina Rd in South Taranaki. Three people are now facing murder charges in relation to his death.
Only weeks later, Jacob’s widow Sarah Ramsay brought their baby boy into the world on his due date of September 13.
Sarah said she felt emotional going through the birthing experience without Jacob at her side and she had him in mind the entire time.
“I wish he was there with me,” she told Open Justice.
“I was wearing his wedding ring at the time to make myself feel as close to him as possible.”
Sarah said Olliver arrived following a quick and uncomplicated labour, weighing a healthy 3.5 kilos.
“He is the spitting image of Jacob when he was a baby,” she said. “He is the perfect little angel.” Sarah married the “love of her life” in January last year and the couple looked forward to a lifetime of creating more memories together.
That included having Olliver, their third child together.
However, she was at an appointment with her midwife when police phoned her and delivered the shattering news.
At the same time as preparing for the impending birth of her son, Sarah suddenly had to plan her husband’s funeral.
Following the bittersweet birth of Olliver, who recently had photos taken of him tucked inside his dad’s wedding waistcoat, Sarah is enjoying her new baby but says his arrival remains shrouded in sadness.
Life as the family knew it has been turned upside down and as they navigate their unwanted journey through grief, Sarah is no longer sure what the future has in store for them.
“We’re taking everything day by
day. It’s going to take a long time for everyone to heal from this horrific tragedy.”
For now, she and her children have relocated to Waikato where they are supported by immediate family who are helping with the “dayto-day”.
Older sons Lucus, 11, and Hunter, 5, have taken to their new role as big brothers and have also returned to school.
Sarah said they are trying to settle back into a routine as she works to create some normality for her children.
But life is far from normal. Amid her new role as a solo mum and while grieving the loss of her husband, Sarah is also navigating the prosecution of William Candy, 39, Ethan Webster, 18, and Jodie Hughes, 30.
She has been in constant contact with police detectives, the Crown and Victim Support, and has been attending the New Plymouth court hearings via audio-visual link.
“It really is a waiting game,” she said of the court case, which is still almost a year out from trial.
While Candy, Webster and Hughes have each been charged with murder, Candy and Hughes are also accused of kidnapping Jacob, and Hughes is additionally charged with burglary.
They have each pleaded not guilty to their respective charges and are currently being held in custody.
The trio, who also lived on Upper Kina Rd, will next appear in the High Court at New Plymouth on October 21 for a case review hearing, and Hughes will make a bid for bail then.
A trial date has been set down for August 14, 2023, and is expected to run for three weeks.