Man who murdered own son appeals prison term
William James Sio has launched an appeal against the 17-year minimum prison sentence he received for the murder of his son Ferro-James Sio, with his lawyer claiming he did not use ‘‘gratuitous violence’’ against the five-year-old.
Sio was jailed for life with a minimum term of 17 years back in July 2021 after pleading guilty to one charge of murder, three charges of ill-treatment of a child and one charge of assault.
Ferro-James died in February 2020 after an appalling catalogue of abuse, which was detailed across an 11-page police summary of facts. The summary revealed Sio, 25, and his partner, Leza Rawiri, 30, would both ‘‘frequently’’ assault the child.
Rawiri, who was in the same room when Sio beat his son to death, was jailed for five years and seven months in February 2022 after pleading guilty two charges of ill-treatment/neglect of a child under 18, and one charge of failure to protect a child under 18.
On the day he died he had been subjected to what Sio described as a lengthy period of ‘‘discipline’’.
He was made to stand facing the wall with his hands held straight out in front of him.
‘‘If the deceased fell towards the wall from exhaustion, placing his hands on the wall, the defendant Sio would hit or kick Ferro-James,’’ the summary said.
‘‘Then the ‘punishment’ would begin again.’’ This went on for seven hours.
Sio’s lawyer Fraser Wood told the Court of Appeal in Auckland that ‘‘personal mitigating factors and the guilty plea’’ were the key issues for the appeal.
He cited cultural and psychological reports which said that for Sio ‘‘physical violence was normalised in his childhood’’ and that he had been subject to physical abuse from his uncle and his mother’s partners.
He claimed Sio was ‘‘regularly kicked in the buttocks as a form of discipline’’, though he conceded the abuse claims were ‘‘self reported [by Sio] to a certain extent’’.
Wood said that the abuse he inflicted on his son was ‘‘motivated by trying to discipline his son, unacceptable but wasn’t gratuitous violence’’.
‘‘This was how he was brought up.’’ Wood also argued Sio did not receive an adequate discount for his guilty pleas, and that ‘‘defendants should be encouraged to plead guilty to these matters’’.
‘‘If the court isn’t going to move on an MPI of 17 years there’s no incentive to plead guilty.
‘‘A combination of the guilty plea and personal circumstances which makes the 17 year MPI manifestly unjust,’’ he said.
Crown prosecutor Amanda Gordon, however, said she took ‘‘real issue with the submissions that this wasn’t gratuitous violence’’.
‘‘The extent and level of violence is of much greater significance and magnitude
and can only be considered gratuitous,’’ she said.
Gordon cited an occasion when Sio was playing on a Playstation and FerroJames said he was cold and wanted to go home, resulting in him being ‘‘pushed forcefully in the chest [and hitting] a wall’’.
‘‘In no circumstances can that be called a form of discipline.’’
She also took issue with the claim Sio did not receive an adequate discount for his guilty pleas, saying he received a ‘‘generous’’ two-year discount ‘‘against a strong Crown case’’.
‘‘In this case there weren’t these powerful mitigating factors.’’
The Court of Appeal reserved its decision.