Naomi Lee Morrison was sentenced to ‘life’ imprisonment, with a minimum non-parole period of 12 years and three months.
44 year old Morrison stabbed Whatuira multiple times in the head and chest at her Dunedin home following an afternoon of drinking and smoking cannabis on 6 August 2021. She wrapped Whatuira’s body, leaving it on her deck for several days.
With the help of another friend, Tialoren Topping, they buried the body in a grave dug on the property.
Police received a tip off, but it more than two months would pass before Ms. Whatuira’s body was finally located.
While Morrison’s lawyer told the court his client was ‘incredibly sorry’ for what she had done, she could still not provide an explanation as to why she did it.
Friends and whanau of Whatuira were in court this morning to watch the sentencing, presided over the Justice Jan Doogue, who called the crime ‘callous’.
