Black Widow’s son jailed for killing mate
The son of the Black Widow murderer Helen Milner has shown no remorse for killing his friend in a high-speed crash while under the influence of methamphetamine, the family of the dead man say.
Adam Francis Murray Kearns, 25, was sentenced yesterday to four years and six months’ prison and disqualified from driving for four years for causing the crash that killed Nicholas Brent Morrison in Christchurch in December 2015.
Kearns was driving at more than 111kmh when he lost control on Wairakei Rd. The car fish tailed and slid sideways, crashing into a parked car, shunting it 21 metres forward. It continued on and came to rest in the front yard of a house.
Morrison, 25, died at the scene and a female passenger suffered a fractured pelvis, fractured vertebrae and broken wrist. She spent five weeks in hospital and another four weeks in a wheelchair.
Nick Morrison’s sister, Freya Morrison, said her brother only wanted to help Kearns, lending him a shirt for a previous court appearance and driving him to the court. ‘‘He saw someone who needed help and was happy to give him care and support.
‘‘He has never acknowledged what he has done and I struggle to believe he is even remotely remorseful for what he has done.’’
Nick Morrison’s mother, Lisa Morrison, told the court she did not ‘‘have the words that convey my sense of loss, devastation and emptiness’’.
‘‘Not a day goes by and not a moment passes when I don’t think of Nick. As parents I think one of our primary roles is to keep our children safe and now I live with the very real sense of failing Nick because of Adam’s terrible judgement of choosing to drive that car that night.’’
The 26-year-old passenger also spoke before sentencing.
‘‘He has not shown any sign of remorse or taken responsibility for what happened.
‘‘I am angry and upset that Adam has shown no remorse for what he has done to me.
‘‘I hold Adam Kearns responsible for killing my close friend and almost killing me.’’
Kearns pleaded guilty in the Christchurch District Court in February to causing a death while driving with evidence of methamphetamine use in his blood.
He also admitted a charge of dangerous driving causing death and injury to the passengers in the car he crashed and breaching a home-detention sentence by consuming an illicit drug.
Nick Morrison’s family released a statement after the sentencing saying their son died ‘‘so needlessly’’ because of Kearns’s ‘‘reckless actions’’.
‘‘Words cannot possibly express our loss and despair. Equally, in our eyes, no penalty imposed on Adam Kearns can possibly redress what he has done to Nick and our family.
‘‘Nick was a beautiful, engaging, caring young man. It is a daily struggle for us to come to terms with his death. We continue to grieve every day and we ask that our privacy be respected during these very stressful times.’’
Judge Tom Gilbert said it was a ‘‘horrific episode of driving’’.
‘‘You have killed a person and ruined lives because of your own sense of self entitlement.
‘‘I accept that you are sorry for what you have done and the harm you have caused.’’
The judge urged him to change his life.
‘‘Do something good in this world. That is the only way, in a little way, you can make better what you have done. Give up the life before now and do something constructive with your life.’’
Kearns’ mother, Helen Milner, was jailed for life with a minimum non-parole term of 17 years for murdering her husband, Philip James Nisbet, in 2009.