Twin’s sorrow after brother died after being beaten by a stranger
A young autistic man who just wanted to belong and make friends was unconscious when he was subjected to a “brutal and gratuitous beating” by a man he’d just met. The internal injuries led him to bleed out and die.
Lev Yurivich Nemkin, 27, and Paul Anthony Chapman, 50, did not know each other in June 2022.
But Chapman would take a dislike to Nemkin, and wait until Nemkin was “completely defenceless and totally vulnerable” to repeatedly stomp, kick and hit him.
Chapman was initially charged with murder, but pleaded guilty to manslaughter and was sentenced to five years’ and two months’ imprisonment by Justice Christine Gordon yesterday in the High Court at Auckland.
On the morning of June 19, Nemkin left his family home and never returned, leaving his twin brother and his family with immense pain.
“Lev was the most gentle person you could meet ... He was generous, thoughtful and anxious to fit in and be loved. He never did fit in, in part due to being on the autistic spectrum, and was often taken advantage of and misunderstood,” Leo Nemkin told the court.
His eagerness to make friends is what Leo thinks took his twin brother to the house in Rānui that day in June.
Leo spoke of being plunged into a well of pain he never knew before his twin brother’s death.
Nemkin had gone to the Rānui home after he met a man in the city. The group drank alcohol, including Chapman, who was a friend of the head tenant.
Nemkin and one of the residents, Nicola Rogers, left the main house and went into the garage. Chapman kicked open the door, and was angry and threatening towards Nemkin after he saw the pair kissing.
Nemkin left the garage but returned a short time later. At one point, he put his hand on Rogers’ leg. Chapman saw this and started making growling and hissing noises.
“Shall I hit you in the face?” Chapman said to Nemkin.
Nemkin was taken back into the house, but returned to the garage and eventually fell asleep on a bed. Rogers asked others to remove Nemkin from the bed.
But Chapman went up to him and began to strike Nemkin with his fist and elbow.
Nemkin was also kicked and jumped on by Chapman, who was wearing steelcapped work boots. A shoe print was left on Nemkin’s face.
The summary of facts said Nemkin was comatose at the time, likely because of the alcohol he’d consumed.
Nemkin had a split liver, a split bowel which was almost torn in some places, and bruises to his diaphragm, thighs, neck, face and scalp. He also had nerve damage to his brain. The 27-year-old’s injuries caused him to bleed internally, ultimately causing his death. His high blood alcohol level may have also contributed to his death, the summary of facts said.
Yesterday, prosecutor Henry Steele said it was a deliberate, sustained and cowardly attack on an unconscious victim who Chapman had taken a dislike to. “He deliberately waited until Mr Nemkin was unconscious to attack him.”
Steele said Chapman had an “alarming and extensive” criminal history for violent offending, and his offending had escalated. This warranted a six-month uplift to the starting point, he submitted.
Nick Chisnall KC said his client had a deprived upbringing which featured violence and led him to turn to alcohol at age 9. He sought a discount for the link between his childhood and the offending.
It took this tragic incident for Chapman to acknowledge his problem with alcohol, Chisnall said.
Justice Gordon accepted that Chapman was remorseful after he spoke with a report writer, but said it was a “brutal and gratuitous” beating, and Chapman’s behaviour got worse over the evening.