Fury erupts as murder trio appear

The children of a murdered Taranaki man are sleeping with photographs of him, the High Court at New Plymouth heard yesterday.

Rei Joseph Tumatauinga Maihi Marshall, 23, died on August 3 after being stabbed in an altercation between members of rival gangs.

Three men charged over his murder made separate appearances in the court, where tension between supporters of the victim and the accused men erupted into shouting and swearing, with police and court security intervening between the groups.

Hamiora Laupama, 25, was the third of the three defendants to appear.

Earlier, Turanganui John OrmsbyTurner, 26, pleaded guilty to murdering Marshall, and a third man, whose details are suppressed, pleaded guilty to amended charges of wounding with intent to cause grievous bodily harm and of being an accessory to murder.

At each appearance the public gallery was full, with more than a dozen police and security staff stationed around the supporters.

Throughout Laupama’s sentencing on a previously admitted charge of being an accessory to murder, he sat with his head bowed.

Marshall’s sister struggled to speak through tears as she read her victim impact statement.

‘‘Our grief is real and raw. His sisters and brothers have lost one of their best friends, his warm smile and goofy laugh, tight embrace and big shoulders were always there when we needed him.

‘‘Rei’s daughter will grow up without the love of the man who treasured her more than anything.’’

She said the family feared for their safety.

Marshall’s mother-in-law spoke of not being able to watch his daughters decorating their Christmas tree with him, as they had done this time last year.

‘‘Instead, they are carrying around and sleeping with his photo, wishing they could see Dad again.’’

Laupama’s counsel, Julian Hanam, said his client had asked him to tell the court: ‘‘He wished he wasn’t there. ‘I wish I did more than just stop and stand there frozen in shock. I know that there is nothing I can do that will bring him back’.’’

He hoped that one day Marshall’s family would forgive him, Hanam said.

Laupama’s name and the facts of the August 3 killing were previously suppressed, but this was lifted by Justice Warwick Gendall yesterday.

Laupama, then a patched member of the Mongrel Mob, went to a South Rd address in New Plymouth with OrmsbyTurner, the president of the gang’s West Coast chapter.

The third person was also with them. They were agitated due to Marshall’s association with another gang, Uru Taha, and other issues between the gangs, the judge said.

There was an exchange of words and Marshall aimed a punch at Laupama, which missed.

Then Ormsby-Turner stabbed Marshall with a long black hunting knife, and the other person with him attacked Marshall with a claw hammer.

Another person intervened to stop the attack and drove the dying man to hospital.

Then Ormsby-Turner instructed Laupama and the third person to get rid of the knife and some clothes, and Laupama drove to East End Reserve and threw them off a bridge into the Te Henui River.

They returned to the South Rd address to pick up Ormsby-Turner, and the three travelled to another address where they burned the clothing they had worn during the crime.

On August 8 the three were arrested and spoken to by police.

Justice Gendall said he took into account Laupama’s remorse, his early guilty plea and the statement he made to police when considering his sentence.

He also considered the significant impact of Laupama’s part in the ‘‘grave and senseless offending’’ on the victim’s family.

He sentenced Laupama to five months home detention.

Ormsby-Turner’s appearance in court earlier in the morning sparked a shouting match between supporters of the defendant and supporters of the victim in the public gallery as he was taken away.

Some were forcibly removed from the court by security staff and police.

During the appearance, Ormsby-Turner was convicted and remanded in custody until March 6 for sentence.

Ormsby-Turner’s counsel, Paul Keegan, said a cultural report would be provided on that date and the summary of facts has been agreed.

A referral would be made to restorative justice.

When the third person appeared, counsel Kylie Pascoe asked the judge not to enter the convictions until after a jurisdiction hearing to determine whether the sentencing will be held in the High Court or the Youth Court.

‘‘Our grief is real and raw. His sisters and brothers have lost one of their best friends . . .’’ Rei Joseph Tumatauinga Maihi Marshall’s sister