Counselling for teen who saw two murders
A judge has ordered treatment and post-traumatic stress counselling for an offender who witnessed two murders in the space of two-and-a-half weeks in 2010 when he was a 15-year-old.
The offender is now aged 21, and has been a member of a street gang. He was sentenced in the Christchurch District Court today after admitting his part in a street brawl, pleading guilty to charges of intentionally injuring a man, assault with a weapon, assault with intent to injure, and resisting arrest.
Defence counsel Elizabeth Bulger urged Judge Jane Farish to impose community detention and intensive supervision so that her client could be given “intervention to prevent escalation of his risk”.
She said his offending began soon after the traumatic events he witnessed in 2010.
The man’s name was not suppressed at the sentencing but as a witness aged under 17 years in the two murder trials which are referred to in this report, he has automatic suppression.
He had seen a man stabbed to death in a violent confrontation in Olliviers Road, Phillipstown, and another man stabbed and beaten to death in an encounter outside a party in Todd Avenue, Bishopdale. The first man was Baz Michael Edmonds, and the second was Timothy Constable.
Judge Farish noted that the man was still relatively young, and had witnessed two murders as a 15-year-old, over two-and-a-half weeks.
“It doesn’t appear from the information I have that much assistance has been given to you in relation to the violence you witnessed at that time, other than the support of your mother. Your offending commenced after you witnessed that serious violence,” said the judge.
“Some assistance needs to be given to you that relates to the trauma of what you saw, and how it affects your on-going development.
“I see you as someone who is redeemable. The right structure and the right support could move you away from this lifestyle.”
She said he needed to address his dependence on alcohol and his anger-and-violence issues.
She imposed six months of community detention at his mother’s address, where he will have to abide by a nightly curfew, as well as 24 months of intensive supervision. Those are the maximum terms for each type of sentence.
She also ordered that he undertake treatment and counselling for alcohol and drug addiction and anger management as directed, and be assessed by a departmental psychologist or an ACC counsellor. ACC funding should be available because of the trauma he had witnessed, she said. The judge will continue to monitor his progress with regular reports.
Category: Focus
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