Attacker pleads guilty to sexual violation, murder charges
Aaron Rhys McDonald has pleaded guilty to the sexual violation and murder of a Christchurch caregiver as part of his South Island rampage last month.
The Crown may ask for an open-ended sentence of preventive detention depending on the findings of two health assessors’ reports which have now been ordered.
The 38-year-old Otaki man’s name suppression was lifted when he entered his early guilty pleas before Justice Graham Panckhurst in the High Court at Christchurch, just two weeks after his original court appearance.
Justice Panckhurst remanded McDonald in custody to July 24 for sentence, and ordered a pre-sentence report and the two health assessors’ reports.
McDonald, a kitchen hand who lives on Wellington’s Kapiti Coast, also admitted robbing two overseas tourists of their personal belongings while armed with a weapon, a metal bar, and wounding one of them with intent to cause grievous bodily harm.
He admitted injuring one of them with intent to cause grievous bodily harm by pushing her out of a moving car.
The other woman was stabbed three times in the neck on March 30 after the pair were picked up by McDonald while hitchhiking from Whataroa to Queenstown.
McDonald admitted reckless driving on State Highway 6 on the West Coast and failing to stop for a police car using its lights and siren.
One woman received pelvic injuries in the incident. Both women were treated at Christchurch Hospital and were discharged on April 7.
While the incident was unfolding near Franz Josef, police were seeking the caregiver who had been reported missing in Christchurch and her body was found in her car in a supermarket carpark in Woolston. The 24-year-old had been employed as a community support worker.
Police used a police dog to end a stand-off with McDonald on the West Coast, and he received serious bites to his legs which required surgery at Christchurch Hospital.
His first court appearance was at an improvised court sitting at a hospital waiting room with Judge Noel Walsh conducting the session.
McDonald was granted interim name suppression at that stage and remanded in custody to the High Court today. Because more surgery was expected, ordering of a psychiatric report was delayed until his next court appearance at the request of defence counsel Elizabeth Bulger because he would remain medicated.
No summary of facts was read at the hearing today because it has not been finalised. Prosecutor Chris Lange said the Crown was still awaiting reports on forensic testing. He asked for the two health assessors’ reports to be prepared ahead of sentencing, which may mean preventive detention will be sought depending on the risk assessment in the reports.
McDonald spoke to the court by video-link from the prison. He pleaded guilty clearly as the charges were read and nodded to the judge when he was remanded in custody for sentence. The defence did not seek continuation of the name suppression order.
Category: News
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