Tuesday 2 June
A woman is recovering from multiple stab wounds, including a serious one to her neck, following an altercation in Lower Hutt overnight.
Police found the woman with numerous wounds after being called to an address in the city.
Detective sergeant Brent Murray says a man found in Wellington shortly after has been charged with wounding with intent to injure.
He says the pair had been in a relationship for around six weeks prior to the attack.
A former soccer club manager is facing charges of sexually abusing children over a timespan of more than 20 years.
Grant Williams, 69, of Maungaraki, appeared in Lower Hutt District court yesterday facing 15 charges including indecent assault and sexual violation.
Williams was a long-time member of Petone Football Club and its manager for several years.
The charges relate to four boys who were aged between 9 and 12 at the time of the alleged abuse. Most of the abuse was said to have happened in the 1980s, though one charge is for an indecent assault in 1962.
Williams was remanded on bail for a pre-depositions hearing on June 11. He refused to comment on the allegations outside court yesterday.
Football club chairman Craig Deadman confirmed Williams’ former position at the club and said police had told him of the allegations.
Williams left the club in 1995 because of declining sponsorship and had not had any involvement since, Mr Deadman said.
A woman has died after jumping off Petone wharf, police say.
A witness saw the unidentified female take off her shoes and jump into the water about 1.30pm.
Inspector Paul Jermy said the witness called police immediately and a police launch set off within a minute of the call.
Westpac Rescue Helicopter staff were called in to help with the search.
The woman was pulled from the water 15-20 minutes later but CPR was unsuccessful.
Her death has been referred to the coroner.
via Stuff
A 22-year-old man is helping police with inquiries following an Armed Offenders Squad (AOS) operation in Lower Hutt today.
Streets surrounding the Naenae Rd location were cordoned off and school pupils were told to stay indoors.
Police were responding to reports firearms were involved in what was believed to be a domestic incident.
The cordons were lifted by 12.40pm.
A police spokesman said no arrests had yet been made and there were no reports of anyone being injured.
An ambulance had been on stand-by at the cordon.
Thanks to www.twitter.com/psycik who provided live updates from within the cordon at the time.
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Tues May 12
Nigel Doren was found in bush near Kaitoke yesterday by a Search and Rescue team.
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Police are urgently trying to find a Lower Hutt man who has been missing for three weeks.
Nigel Doran, 29, last spoke to his family on April 20 and is believed to have been moving around the Wellington area and staying in his vehicle; a white Holden Rodeo, registration DPG245, with Firestone written on the side.
Detective Sergeant Steve Harwood said Mr Doran, who suffered from depression, was thought to have been moving around the Hutt Valley and had been visiting his father’s work.
The urgency to find Mr Doran increased after he left a worrying note there for his father to find this morning, Mr Harwood said.
Mr Doran is Caucasian of medium build, dark hair and is 1.77m tall.
Gang-linked households facing eviction from Lower Hutt’s troubled Farmer Cres are taking legal action to avoid being forced out.
They have also lodged a complaint with the Human Rights Commission, claiming the forced eviction bid unfairly punishes women and up to 16 children.
Tenants in five state houses in the street were given 90 days to leave by Housing New Zealand in March after claims of intimidation by Mongrel Mob members living at the addresses.
“No-one’s packed and no-one’s going to move,” an affected resident told The Dominion Post yesterday. “Housing NZ can’t do this. They can’t get rid of us before [the Mongrel Mob members] have had their day in court. That street is our home.”
Police allege three patched Mob members ordered a female neighbour and her two children out of their Farmer Cres home on February 1.
The five women listed on the tenancy agreements, who are understood to be on benefits and may qualify for legal aid, have hired a lawyer to gain an injunction and fight the evictions through the Tenancy Tribunal.
The notices were among the first issued under a Housing NZ plan to deal with its most troublesome tenants. Two weeks ago the tenants filed their complaint with the Human Rights Commission.
Though the tenants had to be out of Farmer Cres by June 1, none were willing to go, the affected resident said.
She claimed her nine-year-old son had been dragged out of bed by armed police during a February early-morning raid and had watched in tears as his father was arrested on the floor.
Three gang members arrested in the raid appeared in Lower Hutt District Court yesterday on joint intimidation charges.
One of the trio is being held in custody and a depositions hearing is scheduled for July. Long-time Farmer Cres resident Patria Tamaka confirmed the women were taking legal action and were prepared to fight the evictions all the way to the High Court if necessary.
Housing NZ’s tough new national policy, designed to sidestep the Tenancy Tribunal, follows a two-year legal battle to get the Salt family dubbed “the neighbours from hell” evicted from an Auckland state house.
A Housing NZ spokesman was unaware of any legal action or human rights complaints from Farmer Cres.
He said the residents had to be out by June. Housing Minister Phil Heatley would not comment on the legal action, saying it was a procedural matter.
Housing NZ came under fire when confidential documents were sent out with the Farmer Cres eviction notices forcing a Housing NZ manager who lived nearby to leave her home.
“I’m concerned about the effect on the women and children. Housing NZ have really really rushed this.
via Dominion Post
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.
While a man stopped at a Lower Hutt police alcohol checkpoint this morning had not been drinking, he nevertheless managed to get himself arrested.
The car he was driving had been reported stolen, and inside police found chemicals and equipment used for methamphetamine manufacture.
The man faces a variety of charges and will appear in Lower Hutt District Court tomorrow.
via TV3
Friday 8th May
Two men accused of murdering an Upper Hutt transvestite known as Diksy can be named after a judge rejected a plea for name suppression.
Richard Milton Jones, 64, was found by police at his Totara Park Rd unit last Wednesday afternoon with severe injuries and could not be resuscitated by emergency services.
Phillip Christopher Sanders, 41, and David Shaun Galloway, 18, have been charged with murder.
Galloway was refused bail by Judge Pat Grace yesterday after he made an application in Upper Hutt District Court. A further application for name suppression was also refused. Both men are due back in court on May 12.
Verity Jones, 23, who attended her father’s funeral in Wellington this week, said: “He was a gentle person who lived a really peaceful life. That’s why the way he died . . . it’s devastating.”
He was a cabinet maker and she recalled his “unique” creations, his love of old cars, cricket and cats.
But he was better known around Upper Hutt as Diksy. A close friend, Myrie Beck, called him a “beautiful person”, with a great sense of humour. “Everybody who knew Diksy loved her. There was name-calling and, whenever she got on a bus, people would look and look again. But she wasn’t bothered by that.”
Friday 1st May
Distraught friends and family of a 64-year-old man murdered in his Upper Hutt home cannot believe that anyone would want to kill him.
The man was found in his Totara Park Rd unit about 3.20pm on Wednesday after police and emergency services were called by a neighbour.
Detective Senior Sergeant Dave Thornton said the man died of “severe injuries” after attempts to resuscitate him failed.
Police arrested two Upper Hutt men, aged 41 and 18, at the house and charged them with murder.
The accused men and the victim have interim name suppression.
A relative of the dead man was still in disbelief at his death yesterday. “I can’t think why anyone would want to kill him. He was such a placid guy, so little. He couldn’t even defend himself.”
Myrie Beck, a friend of the man, described him as a “beautiful person”, with a great sense of humour. “I can’t believe any one would want to hurt [him].
Mr Thornton said there had been a disturbance, possibly a fight, outside the block of units before the man was murdered.
Neighbours were shocked at the killing, especially as the block of units was full of elderly people.
One man, who alerted police, said he heard a scream and then silence. “A few guys had barged into his place a week ago and taken his money and things. He was too scared to go to the police.”
The men accused of the murder did not enter pleas when they appeared in Upper Hutt District Court yesterday, and were remanded in custody.
Two men aged 41 and 28 will appear in the Upper Hutt District Court today charged with murder.
via Stuff
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Thursday April 30th
Upper Hutt police were called to a disturbance at house in central Upper Hutt yesterday afternoon and found a seriously injured 64-year-old man.
Police and Fire Service staff performed CPR on him but he died at the scene.
The name of the victim will not be released until next of kin have been notified.
A homicide investigation has now been launched.
Public meetings are being held in Lower Hutt next Tuesday the 28th April (7pm Little Theatre) and in Upper Hutt on Thursday 30th April (7pm Hapai Club, 879 Fergusson Drive).
The purpose of the meeting are to hear the publics view on Lower and Upper Hutt policing.
Currently there are numerous rumours circulating around this project (see www.twitter.com/HuttNZ). This opportunity presents the public to attend and offer their views on how policing can be improved in the Hutt Valley by presenting their concerns via this public consultation. Wellington District Commander Pieri Munro or one of his representatives will be in attedance. If you cannot attend you can email (awakairangi.project@police.govt.nz ) or write to them at Awakairangi Project, Policing Development Office, P.O. Box 693, Wellington.
More details are at: www.police.govt.nz/district/wellington
huttnz.co.nz 