HuttNZ

Two brothers in Wainuiomata had a lucky escape on Saturday night.

A 22 year-old man and his brother were riding together on a motorbike when it went off the road and down a bank, shortly before 11pm. They spent three hours stuck down the bank, unable to get back up onto the road because of serious leg injuries.

A local farmer and daughter riding past spotted the pair and alerted emergency services.

The men were both airlifted to Wellington Hospital where they are being treated for their injuries.

Police are looking for a man who robbed a Caltex service station in Wainuiomata on Tuesday last week.
The offender entered the Strand Caltex on August 25 between 10:45pm and 11:10pm and demanded cash from the sole employee, said Lower Hutt police.
He was described as being 1.67m tall and of solid build. He was wearing dark clothing.
He left with an undisclosed amount of money.

Cannabis plants with a street value of half a million dollars were confiscated from a residential property in Wainuiomata recently.

Police Response Manager Inspector Geoff Gwyn says more than 60 mature plants were found in a two-storey home that police allege was painstakingly set up as a cultivation operation.

“The guy had divided the bottom part of the house into seven sections dedicated to various stages of cultivation. There was a sophisticated watering system, ventilation, a charcoal air filteration system to stop the cannabis smell and a large lighting set up.”

A 48-year-old male, Patrick O’Donnell, appeared in court on three charges, including possession of cannabis for supply and cultivation of cannabis.

Mr Gwyn allege O’Donnell had also set up an electrical system so that none of the power consumed to keep the 24-hour cultivation area going was measured on the meter.

“It’s estimated he was using 15 times the power a normal household uses in one day, each day.”

Police say apart from the 60 plants, $25,000 cash was also found on the premises along with five-and-a-half kilos of “head” worth about $55,000 ready to go out on the streets.

The premises were watched over by security guards on night after the arrest warrant was executed and the confiscated marijuana will be disposed of after samples have been taken.

Mr Gwyn says the major drugs bust is a result of strong efforts by the Crime and Crash Team, led by Sergeant Mike Sarten.

O’Donnell was remanded on bail until 6 August, with conditions that include reporting to the Wainuiomata police station and not consuming any alcohol or drugs.

Police will not be laying charges against a Wainuiomata riding school that was investigated by a child abuse squad – despite having enough evidence.

In April (see earlier story), police issued a warning to Lower Hutt and Wainuiomata parents after a flyer advertising a school holiday riding programme organised by the company Horse Lovers was sent out to hundreds of parents with a primary school newsletter. Police said they had concerns about the organisation running the programme.

But Detective Sergeant Brent Murray confirmed today that no charges would be laid against two employees at the school. Though police had interviewed two children and had amassed enough evidence, Mr Murray said the alleged assaults were minor. The children’s parents did not want to put them through the trauma of the court process. “On the balance of our interviews and in consultation with the complainants, we have dealt with the complaints in the most appropriate way, which in this case did not involve prosecution,” he said. “Community safety is a priority for police especially when it comes to young people. I’m pleased with the work we’ve done in terms of providing the complainants with some reassurance and collating the information in a timely manner,” he said.

 Mr Murray understood Horse Lovers had closed down and would not reopen. Confidentiality and privacy issues meant police were unable to go into details of the complaints made or the identity of individuals.

At last a feel good story from Wainuiomata courtesy of TVNZ news tonight. I’ve seen it so i believe it!

Well it apparently didn’t meet Trademe’s Terms & Conditions and the auction probably should not have gone ahead for that reason but media interest created a story, that resulted in high interest in the auction but in the end a very sorry outcome. I feel for the charities involved, as well as Gore couple, I hope like most they get a result soon.

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The couple who listed their tractor for a dollar on TradeMe and offered to throw in their farm for free have been left “furious” after the winning bidder was denied finance by his bank and the sale fell through.

Gore couple Shelley and Allan Holland listed their farm, valued at $260,000, two weeks ago on the back of a tractor sale on auction website TradeMe.

The old red tractor was listed with a $1 reserve in the auction which expired last night, with an 8.1 hectare farm in the Catlins thrown in for free. Of the proceeds, $10,000 was to be given to charity.

Owner Shelly Holland said they had been left feeling gutted.

“I feel really embarrassed, incredibly embarrassed and I feel belittled and just made a total fool of really. We couldn’t have been any more upfront and honest if we tried because where we come from you’re normally straight up and honest – a hand shake’s a hand shake.”

She said that with the large amount of interest and publicity in the auction, she had not expected any problems with the sale.

TradeMe business manager Mike O’Donnell said all of the top bidders had been contacted before the close of the sale, to ensure bids were legitimate. They had spoken to the eventual winner, Wainuiomata man Lance Karanga, twice, he said.

While Mr Karanga had appeared genuine when TradeMe spoke to him, his bank had declined him the financing to finalise the sale today, Mr O’Donnell said.

Mr Karanga said today that he had not misled the Hollands. He was serious about the sale.

He was “really pissed off” about the way things had transpired, but said he had been instructed by his lawyer not to comment.

“I’m not allowed to go into details at the moment.”

Mrs Holland said they had emailed the auction winner to congratulate him earlier today, and had then received a string of non-committal responses culminating in Mr Karanga telling them he had been instructed not to comment.

She said Mr Karanga had taken the bidding from $233,032 to $250,000 in a move she called “a bloody stink thing to do”.

“It’s not just us. We’ve still got our land, we’re no worse off than where we started … but it’s all the people that we promised money to. We wanted to give $10,000 to some people that we thought really deserved it because people had been so overwhelming with the auction and we had such an incredible response.”

“And now what do we do? We are just absolutely gutted – totally and utterly gutted.”

The couple was disappointed for people they had offered to support out of their earnings, including one boy named Ollie whose plight had come up in the question-and-answer section of the auction. Ollie needs medical treatment in the United States.

She said the feedback on the auction had been overwhelmingly positive and there had been no negative feedback. They had even received fan mail, emails and phone calls wishing them well.

Meanwhile, Mr O’Donnell said TradeMe had contacted all other bidders to tell them the sale had fallen through and encouraging them to get in contact with the Hollands if they were still interested.

“Should Shelly and Allan wish to take legal action against him, we’ve got an audit trail of his bidding and of the contact that we made to him to confirm his buying status.”

Mrs Holland said legal action was not being considered at this stage.

Mr Karanga had had his TradeMe membership terminated.

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Lance Karanga Interview on Tv3 Nightline

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A Gore couple are gutted that the sale of a tractor they offered for auction on TradeMe with a $1 reserve and an 8.1ha farm thrown in for free has fallen through. (see updating link to auction as it occurred here)

Shelley and Allan Holland last night thought they had sold the tractor for $250,000 but their delight turned to despair today when the supposed buyer, Lance Karanga of Wainuiomata, pulled out after reportedly being unable to obtain the necessary financing.

The Hollands said they were gutted and furious at the same time.

“I feel really embarrassed, incredibly embarrassed and I feel belittled and just made a total fool of really,” Shelly Holland told the Stuff website.

“We couldn’t have been any more upfront and honest if we tried because where we come from you’re normally straight up and honest — a hand shake’s a hand shake.”

She said that with the large amount of interest and publicity in the auction, she had not expected any problems with the sale.

TradeMe business manager Mike O’Donnell said all of the top bidders had been contacted before the close of the sale, to ensure bids were legitimate.

They had spoken to Mr Karanga twice.

Yesterday, Shelly Holland said she hoped the bidder was not a time-waster.

“A promise is a promise, you don’t go back on your word where I come from,” she said.

21 May

A woman was admitted to intensive care after the car she was driving on the wrong side of the road, with its lights off, collided head-on with a van.

Police suspect alcohol was a factor in the crash, which happened about 4.50am yesterday on the Wainuiomata Hill Road.

The three passengers in the Holden Commodore a man, a woman and a three-year-old were treated and discharged from Hutt Hospital.

The Mitsubishi van driver, on his way to work when the crash happened, was unhurt.

Detective Sergeant Scott Cooper said the serious crash unit would investigate this week and blood tests would reveal if alcohol was a factor.

“We won’t know until that’s analysed … that could be a couple of weeks.”

Charges were possible, he said.

The crash was near a lookout on Wainuiomata Hill, on a stretch of road with a median barrier in place.

“At a guess, they’ve driven down from the lookout.”

It was not known whether the passengers had been wearing seatbelts, or whether the child was buckled up.

The car and van were both badly damaged in the accident and two points of impact were visible on the car’s windshield.

The vehicles were towed to a secure location for further investigation.

A Hutt Hospital spokesman said the injured driver was stable and improving in intensive care yesterday.

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Three adults and a toddler are in hospital after their car and a van collided at the summit of the Wainuiomata Hill road this morning. Lower Hutt area commander Inspector Richard Chambers said the car, a dark-coloured Holden Commodore, and the van collided at 4.50 this morning.

The occupants of the Holden have been taken to hospital, with two suffering serious chest injuries. The male driver of the van was uninjured. The accident had blocked the road, the main access route between the suburb and Wellington, however emergency services have now cleared the accident site and re-opened the road.

Police are appealing for witnesses to contact them on 04 560 2600.

May 7

Again coverage courtesy of Dominion Post, with photos of accused.

In summary Judge lifts name surpression on accused. The accussed are revealed as siblings of her mother, and their partners. However the names of 2 people charged with cruelty to a child in their care are still surpressed to protect the identity of the girl. The charge relate to Oct 12 2007 at Wainuiomata

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May 6 Day 2 of Trial

In an unprecedented courtroom drama, a self-styled “divine healer” has touched the concrete lion statue said to be behind the evil spirit that possessed a young mother, and relayed a spirit’s apology to the people accused of her manslaughter.

“He is very emotional and he is apologising to the people over there, to the accused,” David McMillan said yesterday after touching the statue and holding his shaking hand above his head.

In a process that took more than a minute in the High Court at Wellington yesterday, he bent over the lion and appeared to touch it before his hand started shaking and one arm rose into the air, supported by his other arm.

His actions appeared to affect the accused, most of whom had their heads bowed as he finished. They left the court in tears.

Mr McMillan was giving evidence on the second day of the trial of nine people charged with the manslaughter of Janet Moses, 22, on October 12, 2007, during an exorcism ceremony in a crowded flat in Wainuiomata. The Crown says she drowned when water was forced into her mouth.

The nine have had name suppression since they were arrested in December 2007, but eight are due to be named today.

One of them, as well as a tenth person, is charged with cruelty to a child and both will remain anonymous.

The Crown says the child victim was also made to drink water and her eyes were gouged.

It is alleged that a kaumatua had earlier told the group that the concrete lion, stolen from a Wairarapa pub, was a taonga and had to be returned.

Mr McMillan, a marae handyman, said that, when he spoke to police five days after the death, he believed a demon had killed Ms Moses.

He also wanted to check the girl to see if she was safe.

He saw the lion for the first time in court and asked to approach it. After he had touched it, he said he saw an old Maori man, whose appearance he described, and who had been sick on the lion.

The man apologised to the accused, he said. Mr McMillan told the court he had a gift as a divine healer. He could see spirits and talk to them.

He had been taken to the Wainuiomata flat and blessed the people there, including a dead body under a quilt.

He and others saw the body “flinch”, showing that her spirit had been released after being trapped in her body.

Then he saw a girl slumped lifeless on a couch. Her eyes were swollen. “I knew that I had to get her out of the house or she would have been the next one to go,” he said.

He also insisted the police had to be called to investigate Ms Moses’ death. People possessed by spirits could die unless they were treated, he said.

He saw evil spirits in the eyes of the people at the flat, telling them what to do. When he blessed them it opened their eyes.

THE CHARGES

Three men and six women are charged with manslaughter. The Crown alleges they “cleansed” Janet Moses, a disturbed 22-year-old mother of two, ending with her death on October 12, 2007, at Wainuiomata.

One of the women and a 10th person, a man, are also charged with cruelty to a 14-year-old girl.

The names of the accused, who have pleaded not guilty, are suppressed until today.

The defence says the accused wanted to help Ms Moses and the girl remove a makutu or curse. They thought they were doing what the two wanted.

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5 May

A mother believed to be possessed with demons was fatally exorcised in a crowded Wainuiomata flat where water was poured into her and people tried to suck on her eyes to remove the curse, a jury has been told.

In the High Court at Wellington yesterday, the Crown alleged that people chanted and prayed, that Janet Moses’ eyes were held open while water was poured into them, and water was poured into her mouth, causing her death from drowning in October 2007.

People tried to resuscitate her but, when that failed, the group continued the ceremony on a 14-year-old girl who was thought to have caught the illness from Ms Moses. The girl was also doused with water and her eyes were gouged, prosecutor Kate Feltham said.

At an outsider’s insistence the girl was taken to hospital with swollen eyes oozing blood, with scratches and bruises, and with low oxygen levels consistent with inhaling water or vomit.

Three men and six women are charged with manslaughter. The Crown alleges they “cleansed” Janet Moses, a disturbed 22-year-old mother of two, ending with her death on October 12, 2007, at Wainuiomata.

One of the women and a 10th person, a man, are also charged with cruelty to a 14-year-old girl. The names of the accused are suppressed in the meantime.

They have pleaded not guilty.

Speaking for all 10 accused, defence lawyer Mike Antunovic said what took place was an intense and powerful experience. The participants wanted to help Ms Moses and the girl overcome the curse, or Maori makutu. They thought they were doing what Ms Moses and the girl wanted.

But Ms Feltham said Ms Moses did not consent to the process inflicted on her and force was used to overcome her resistance.

The accused did not know what they were doing but continued anyway. Ms Moses’ partner was repeatedly turned away from the flat in the days before her death and young men stood guard outside to prevent anyone entering.

On the final day of the ritual about 20 people, mostly children, were held in a bedroom while the process continued in the lounge.

Police found Ms Moses’ body in a room where the carpet squelched with water and a hole had been poked in the kitchen floor to let water drain.

Ms Feltham said a large group had discussed Ms Moses’ state of mind at a hui about six days before she died. A kaumatua said an evil spirit had possessed her and linked it to the theft of a concrete lion statue from the Greytown Hotel.

The elder believed the statue was a historic taonga but the jury would hear it was bought new at an auction in the 1990s.

A convoy of cars took the lion back and prayers were said upon its return.

The kaumatua said two bad demons had left Ms Moses and she should be watched and left to heal herself, Ms Feltham told the court.

A Tainui kaumatua, Tui Adams, who advised the late Maori queen, is expected to tell the jury that consulting the kaumatua and a blessing with water were appropriate, but what followed was ill-conceived and not part of any traditional or cultural ceremony he knew.

A psychiatrist will give evidence that descriptions of Ms Moses’ behaviour strongly suggested an underlying psychological or psychiatric disorder.

The trial is expected to last four to six weeks

via Stuff

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The trial begins in the High Court at Wellington today of nine members of a Lower Hutt extended family charged with manslaughter over the death of 22-year-old Janet Moses during an alleged maketu, or curse-lifting, ceremony.

Ms Moses is believed to have drowned during the apparent exorcism at her grandparents’ home in Wainuiomata in October 2007 while around 40 members of her extended family looked on.

Police later charged six women and three men with manslaughter.

The accused have interim name suppression.

The alleged maketu was arranged to lift a Maori curse. The curse was believed to  have started after Ms Moses’ sister allegedly stole a stone lion statue from A Wairarapa pub.

A 14-year-old girl was also seriously injured during the ritual and had to have surgery to save her sight.

Know as the man who banned Wainuiomata from his motel in Palmerston North, it is not the first time the Hutt Valley has had exposure to Mr Donnelly and his forthright manner.

This is the same Mr Donnelly behind the 82 apartment Settlers complex in Jackson Street Petone.

This project was abandoned earlier this year after protracted planning hearings pushed out the development into the real estate downturn.

Mr Donnelly told the Hutt News paper at the time that when he builds the 8 storey towers when the recovery comes

“I’ll stand on the top storey and spit on those people (who objected)”

Nice, no doubt Aussie Steve does not mince his words.