Teen who killed Catholic college student loses appeal

But the 15-year-old – who has permanent name suppression – had his three-year, three-month sentence of imprisonment reduced to two years and seven months following the Court of Appeal’s judgement released this week. The result means the teen will see the Parole Board next month.

The defendant, who was 13 at the time, was planning to board a bus on May 23, 2024, when he walked past 16-year-old Trinity Catholic College pupil Enere McLaren-Taana. After an altercation in which the defendant used a knife, Enere died in hospital from a stab wound.

The appeal judges noted the defendant’s mental state at the time. He had been diagnosed with ADHD and PTSD – the latter coming as a result of being attacked by a group in a Dunedin park just months before the stabbing.

The Court of Appeal stated that “an element of self-protection, while misguided and concerning, was in our view clearly present”. The court reduced the sentence accordingly, but ruled the seriousness of the crime was not outweighed by the potential consequences to the defendant.

The basis of an application for a discharge without conviction centred around the possible deportation of the teen and the significant risk of family members facing the same fate.

At the time of sentencing, the defendant held a temporary visa, which had since lapsed, and family members’ applications for residency had been declined. It meant the teenager was now liable for deportation, regardless of a conviction.

The only way he could avoid such an outcome, the court said, seemed to hinge on an appeal on humanitarian grounds or “some sort of discretionary intervention”. Immigration New Zealand’s decision had been delayed pending the court’s decision.

FULL STORY

Bus hub killer fails to have conviction quashed (By Rob Kidd/Otago Daily Times)