Man jailed for Bluff axe attack

A 28-year-old man who invaded a Bluff home and attacked a couple with an axe has been sentenced to nine years and six months jail with a minimum non-parole period of six years.

Clayton William Dixon, meat worker, of Bluff, appeared before Judge Kevin Phillips in the Invercargill District Court yesterday for sentence after pleading guilty to two charges of wounding with intent to cause grievous bodily harm and burglary while being armed with an axe on October 25. He was given a three-strikes warning and a protection order was issued for the female victim and three of her children.

His lawyer, David Slater, said yesterday Dixon was remorseful and wished he had not picked up the axe and had not gone into the house.

Dixon had contacted his mother after the offending and indicated he thought they were dead, Mr Slater said.

Judge Phillips said the facts of the offending were extremely disturbing.

Dixon

went

to

the

woman’s house about 10.30pm on October 25. She was there with her four young children and her partner.

Her partner went to the conservatory to have a cigarette and was immediately struck on the head by a blow from the axe, Judge Phillips said.

He staggered backwards into the living area and was again struck on the head with the axe and knocked to the ground, he said.

The woman screamed at Dixon to stop and rushed to the aid of her partner, putting her arms over him. Dixon then struck her with the axe an unknown number of times to the head. When she reached out her hand he struck it with the axe causing it to break in several places, Judge Phillips said.

Dixon was standing over the man when a person arrived at the house. Dixon ran but was later found by police in Bluff.

He told police he had become angry when he saw the man and went to a garden shed and took an axe before entering the house through an unlocked door and striking him. He said he could not remember anything further, Judge Phillips said.

The woman will have life-long disabilities from her injuries after part of her brain was injured with a piece of bone, which led to a higher risk of developing epilepsy or infection.

She may never regain full use of her hand, the judge said.

In her victim impact statement, the woman described the trauma of her recovery, the serious disabilities suffered since, the humiliation she felt because there were things she could not do for herself, her loss of dignity, and the fact she could not drive, Judge Phillips said. She had hearing loss in one ear, short-term memory loss, loses her speech and becomes disoriented. Her life had changed, he said. She lived in constant fear, which affected her sleep, and she expected the attack to haunt her for the rest of her life.

The man suffered hearing loss, memory loss and 90 per cent of one ear was chopped off and had to be re-attached.

He worried about his partner’s safety and had difficulty sleeping.