Fatal stabbing; Upper Hutt woman sentenced for manslaughter of partner

Report from RNZ
Upper Hutt woman Donna Henry has been sentenced in the High Court in Wellington to a year’s home detention, after pleading guilty to the manslaughter of her partner.

The man, whose name is suppressed, was fatally stabbed at their home in the Upper Hutt suburb of Brown Owl in September last year.

Justice David Boldt said police had attended more than 50 family violence callouts to the couple’s home – identifying Henry as the victim in more than 30 of those instances.

He described the pair’s nearly 20-year relationship as “violent and angry” at times, and said the victim had struck Henry “two or three times” as they fought on the day he died – but in that instance Henry had not called police.

“Unlike the dozens of other times when arguments between you two had become violent [this time] you went to the kitchen and got a knife. When you couldn’t find one in the drawer, you didn’t pause, you went to the knife block,” Justice Boldt said. “Arming yourself escalated the things to a new level with terrible consequences.”

Boldt said Henry stabbed the man once in the chest and called her sister to tell here what she had done before calling 111. Ambulance crews were unable to prevent the man from dying.

The victim’s family fought back tears as they read impact statements on Friday, remembering him as a true bushman and a role model.

His mother spoke of receiving “the worst call one could ever get” when her grandson called her to tell her his father had been stabbed. “No parent should have to bury their children,” she said. “We’re all so heartbroken. A year on and I still sit and cry for him thinking about the what if.”

She addressed Henry directly during her statement.

“How could you do this to his family? I do not understand why you didn’t call the police like every other time,” she said.

The man’s daughter said she was haunted by the “unbearable pain and trauma” inflicted by her father’s death. “You shattered my entire world. I lost my sense of trust. Now who do I ring when I’m down and out? I will miss his smile, infectious laugh and unwavering support.”.

Justice Boldt cited Henry’s remorse and the need to not inflict further harm on the couple’s “already traumatised” children, in converting a two-year prison sentence to home detention.

Henry was not to contact the victim’s family – excluding the couple’s immediate children – and attend drug and alcohol counselling as a condition of her home detention.

Henry hugged her counsel, lawyer Lucie Scott and supporters in the courtroom after the verdict was delivered.

The victim and the children had permanent name suppression.