Apology to family at manslaughter sentencing
An emotional apology to the family of a manslaughter victim was delivered from the dock by the man who kneed him in the head, causing a fatal brain bleed.
Taele Victor Faletolu, 21, expressed his shame and sorrow as his sentencing began in the High Court at Christchurch, for the manslaughter of 20-year-old Utupo Alfred Waterhouse.
Faletolu said: “I want you and your family to know how deeply sorry I am to have caused you and your family pain.”
He said he was ashamed that “my careless act has caused pain that I can never repair”. Deep down in his heart, he believed that there was no amount of money, or words of apology that would change anything.
“If there’s a chance to give things back and make things right, I’ll take it,” he told the court. The incident had changed his views on life. “Through this I have learned my lesson which I will never forget throughout my life.”
Family members spoke of Mr Waterhouse as a “beautiful strong soul” who was a son, brother, husband and father, and a respected member of his church congregation. His 22-year-old wife Lepona told of them being married from when he was aged 17, and their two children now visiting his grave.
Prosecutor Anselm Williams said the two men involved had never met. In the March 2 incident outside a party in New Brighton, Faletolu ran towards Mr Waterhouse and jumped on the bonnet of a car he was standing beside. He then jumped off the car to strike Mr Waterhouse in the head with a knee – a blow he was not expecting.
“He had set about causing harm to this man,” said Mr Williams.
Defence counsel Bridget Ayrey said it was not lost on Faletolu that the family of the victim had delivered their statements to the court with a feeling of mercy, and without expressions of hatred. She said it was a fleeting and extremely reckess act which had tragic consequences. “It was a classic one-strike manslaughter.”
The case against him had been strong because of his own openness with the police. He had admitted responsibility straight away, and had been frank in his statements to the police. He had paid $5000 to the victim’s family towards the cost of the funeral. She urged the court to impose a home detention sentence instead of prison to keep in the community a young man who had leadership potential and “an immense amount to contribute”.
Justice Rachel Dunningham said she had to accept from the evidence that it was more likely to be the fall to the gound rather than the kick that had caused the fatal injury.
She said the incident happened at the end of a fundraising dance where groups of women had begun fighting, and then the men became involved. The fight had ended before the knee or kick in the head by Faletolu caused a brain bleed which led to Mr Waterhouse’s death in hospital a week later.
She accepted Faletolu was genuinely remorseful, he had pleaded guilty, and he was willing to take part in a restorative justice meeting.
But she said a prison sentence was inevitable, and imposed a jail term of two years nine months.
Category: News
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