A Wellington high school student crafted a detailed ‘kill plan’ following the end of a relationship targeting his ex-girlfriend’s new boyfriend.
The defendant cannot be named due to his age.
When his initial plan to execute the murder at school using a knife was foiled he later attacked the new boyfriend at his home with a machete, inflicting severe injuries to his chest and forearm.
In an impact statement the victim said he still considered the attacker a ‘friend’ but felt betrayed by him, and never wanted to see him again.
The 16-year-old defendant faced the Wellington High Court today before Justice Christine Grice and received a sentence of 12 months home detention.
The backdrop to the violent act was a series of escalating behaviours from the defendant, including obsessive jealousy during his relationship, extensive online searches for weapons, and alarming discussions about his intent to kill, which culminated in the attempted murder charge.
As a result of the attack the victim in a punctured and collapsed lung among other serious injuries. Further injuries were only prevented by the intervention of the victim’s parents.
Following his arrest and subsequent rehabilitation efforts, the court considered a range of factors, including the defendant’s age, rehabilitation progress, and the gravity of his premeditated actions in determining his sentence.
Protecting his name and grounding him for a year is not an appropriate punishment for attempted murder. Doesn’t matter how old he is.
Somewhere out there right now is another innocent person that will someday be this little creep’s next girlfriend or victim. Whatever he ends up doing to them, that’s yet more blood on the woke NZ legal system’s hands.
Stupid