Murder of disabled flatmate gets man 17 years in prison

Years before brutally murdering his disabled flatmate, Tama Wilson-tipa had been a school prefect, studied at Massey University, and was teaching tikanga and te reo Māori.

Tamati Teariki Matene Wilson-tipa appeared in the High Court at New Plymouth yesterday, where he was sentenced to life, with a non-parole period of 17 years for murdering Lionel Peat in a small unit in South Taranaki on December 3, 2022.

Crown prosecutor Jo Woodcock said a term of 18 years non-parole would be appropriate but a one year reduction could be applied due to the defendant’s guilty plea.

Woodcock argued the court should not reduce the sentence any further due to the high level of brutality and prolonged assault to a particularly vulnerable victim, who was described in court as having physical and mental disabilities.

She said the defendant’s hard upbringing did not affect his culpability as he was able to achieve success, educate himself, and was in employment at the time of the murder.

A cultural and psychiatric report outlined how Wilson-tipa’s parents were killed in a car crash when he was 6-months-old, and he was raised by his aunty on a marae with strong connection to his iwi and hapu.

As an adult he lost two children of his own when they were babies. He also has a 7-year-old daughter.

The court heard about his alcohol abuse and mood difficulties.

Defence lawyer Paul Keegan tried to reduce the sentence to 16 years non-parole due to Wilson-tipa’s background.

“The culpability must be seen through the lens of his past,” Keegan told the Court.

Justice Frances Cooke went over the offending, classifying the injuries Peat suffered as extremely violent. “He begged you to stop. You did not stop even after he was rendered unconscious.”

While Justice Cooke acknowledged Wilson-tipa’s struggles, he said it was ultimately his own choices that led to where he was now. “You have chosen not to be a good person.”

The murder occurred on December 2, 2022. The defendant had been at a woman’s house with Peat watching television and putting up Christmas decorations when they started drinking.

Wilson-tipa became angry and accused Peat of various things and began punching him in the head, face, neck and chest.

Peat left the address but returned a couple of hours later and Wilson-tipa resumed his assault until his victim fell to the ground, where he was kicked and stomped on.

Despite repeated pleas to stop, Wilson-tipa continued and Peat began bleeding heavily, eventually falling unconscious. Wilson-tipa returned to Peat’s lifeless body and continued to punch and kick him until the woman said she heard the loudest “crack”.

They then called an ambulance, with paramedics arriving to find Peat already dead.

Police and forensic scientists spent the next four days investigating the scene, where they found blood splatter in every room of the unit as well as attempts to clean it up.

When questioned by police, WilsonTipa initially denied the attack, saying he had found Peat unconscious and had tried to help him.