R v SAMSON [2021] NZHC 1335

R v SAMSON [2021] NZHC 1335 [3 June 2021]IN THE HIGH COURT OF NEW ZEALANDINVERCARGILL REGISTRYI TE KŌTI MATUA O AOTEAROAWAIHŌPAI ROHECRI-2019-025-001968[2021] NZHC 1335THE QUEENvSAMUEL MOSES SAMSONHearing: 3 June 2021Appearances: M-J Thomas and R W Donnelly for the CrownJ M Ablett-Kerr QC and H T Young for the DefendantDate: 3 June 2021SENTENCING REMARKS OF NATION J[1] Mr Samson, you are for sentence, a jury having found you guilty of murderingAzalia Wilson on 17 November 2019.[2] I first acknowledge the family and close friends of Ms Wilson. I acknowledgeyour courage in reading your victim impact reports in Court and the way you did yourbest to confront Mr Samson with the suffering he has caused. I also commend you, asdid Mr Donnelly, for the dignified way in which you conducted yourselves during thetrial. In doing so, you honoured your memory of a much loved daughter, sister andclose friend. Also the memory of a young mother who was caring for her baby, forMr Samson's baby.[3] I also acknowledge those in Mr Samson's whānau who are here to show yoursupport for Mr Samson and to acknowledge that, whatever he had done, Mr Samsonyou remain part of your family and you have their support.[4] All those present today need to understand that, before today, I had the benefitof detailed written submissions from counsel, I had a pre-sentence report fromCorrections, a s 27 report that I will be referring to later, and cases that were referredto. So, I have had time to carefully consider what I must do, as the Judge in this case,and of course I presided over the trial and heard all the evidence. But it is importantthat all those who have a particular interest in this case know the background and knowwhat has led to this day, and it does mean that my sentencing will take some time. AllI can do is summarise that background.[5] On 11 July 2019, Azalia Wilson gave birth to a daughter at Dunedin Hospital.The baby was about nine weeks premature. It was later confirmed you were the baby'sfather. Without being sure that you were the father, you supported Azalia while shewas in hospital and when she first returned to Invercargill with the baby to live withher family.[6] Once it was confirmed that you were the father, you told Azalia you did notwant to be in a relationship with her but you would support her as a mother 150 percent.[7] You were then aged about 31. Ms Wilson was aged 21.[8] But, I accept the evidence that, after that time, you frequently wanted to knowwhat contact Azalia was having with other people, you accused her of being involvedwith other people and you were controlling and possessive.[9] On 4 October 2019, Azalia's father organised for the family to go to a restaurantfor dinner. You were invited. Before the dinner, you went to Azalia's home. You didnot like what she was wearing, I am satisfied, quite unreasonably. Although you didnot express it this way, you thought she was dressing in a way that might be attractiveto other men. You became angry, abused her and refused to go to the dinner. Laterthat evening, Azalia posted a picture on social media of the family at dinner. Therewas a vacant chair which would have been your place if you had been there. Youphoned her and abused her, wanting to know who had been in that vacant seat.[10] Back at the home after dinner, you made an abusive call to Azalia. Azalia'smother told you, in no uncertain terms, to leave Azalia alone. She heard you say "tellyour mother to fuck up or I'll burn the house down". Azalia was frightened and lockedall the doors of the house. The next day you were apologetic for what you said. But,after that, you were not allowed at the Wilton house.[11] There were times however, usually at a weekend, when Azalia, you and thebaby would stay at a motel so you could have time together.[12] On a Friday night in October 2019, Azalia and the baby stayed a night with herclose friend Terina King. You dropped them off at Ms King's home. During that night,you made a number of video calls to Azalia. In some you were nice, in some you wereangry. At about 3.00 am, you arrived at the house and banged on the door. Ms Kingtold Azalia to let you in because she thought you were going to smash the door. Youcame in, went to a knife block in the kitchen, grabbed two knives, one in each hand,and threatened Azalia and Ms King. You head-butted Azalia while she was holdingthe baby. You threatened Ms King that if she told anyone what had happened, youknew where her family lived and you would kill them.[13] On Friday 15 November 2019, Azalia booked a room at the Bavarian Moteland went there with the baby, intending to stay until the Sunday. This was to be a timewhen you would be with Azalia and the baby.[14] During that Friday, you and a few people gathered at the motel to mark thebirthday of your son. He lives with his mother away from Invercargill. The motherof that child has a protection order against you. You were not having contact withyour son but you wanted to mark his birthday.[15] On the Saturday night, you went to a gathering at the home of your friend ReonTaki. Azalia and the baby stayed at the motel. Others who talked to you at the partyconsidered you were just your normal self. One person remembered you introducingyourself and saying you would not be drinking very much because you would be withyour baby in the morning. You left this gathering around 9.00 pm. When you left,you told one of the others that you were going back to the motel and would not bereturning to the party because you wanted to be in good form to look after your babyon the Sunday.[16] A friend drove you back to the motel and waited outside. You told him youwere going back to the motel to ask if you could go out drinking. You were in themotel a little longer than he expected. He went into the motel to see what was up. Hesaw you kiss Ms Wilson good bye and leave with no apparent sign of trouble betweenthe two of you. You left the motel around 10.12 pm and went back to Reon Taki'sparty. You told someone there that you had given Ms Wilson money, so she was happyfor you to go back to the party.[17] Around 12.30 am, the gathering moved to the Tillermans bar. You went theretoo, arriving at 1.05 am.[18] At 1.20 am, you left Tillermans and walked to Dee Street where, at 1.23 am,you were picked up by a taxi. The taxi driver dropped you off near the Bavarian Motelat 1.42 am.[19] Around 2.30 am, a person, who was staying in the unit next to the unit whereMs Wilson was in bed, was woken by banging coming from Ms Wilson's unit. Itsounded like a table banging against a wall. A child was crying. The person heard amale saying repeatedly and angrily "fuck you cunt". The person who heard this wastrying to get to sleep. The next audible thing he heard was a male saying "you wantto fuck my baby momma" and then also "you want a go". He assumed the personsaying this was on the phone because there was no reply to either of those statements.[20] At around 2.30 am, you made a Facebook Messenger call to an associate ofyours, who you knew well. This person was well known to the Police. He was notsomeone who would normally go to the Police to have them deal with a problem hemight have with other people. I heard that from the Police. At the house, there was afemale friend of this associate. Both these people saw, from the face appearing withthe video call, that it was you making the call. They responded to the call as beingfrom "Munchies", the name you are commonly known by.[21] You taunted the associate saying something like "you fuck my baby momma".You said to the associate too something like "look what you have done to my bitch"or "look what I have done to your bitch". Then you used your cell phone to show theassociate the battered head of Ms Wilson. The woman who was with him saw whatshe said was the disturbing image of the head and face of a woman so badly batteredthat she was unrecognisable. What was shown to the associate and his friend was notrecorded or preserved as a photograph but I have absolutely no doubt that they bothsaw the face of Azalia Wilson who you were with when you made that call.[22] The associate biked to Kew Road. He expected you to turn up but you did not.He recorded on Facebook where he was and sent you a message showing he was there.During the trial I saw that message and the image.[23] He then went back to his house. The woman who was with him wanted thePolice to obtain help for whoever it was they had seen so badly beaten up. She madetwo 111 calls, first at 2.50 am and then at 3.00 am. The person taking the call wantedto know who was making the call and where they were, but the woman would not givethe Police that information. Those calls were brief. The Police must have traced thenumber from which the calls had been made. They phoned that number and spoke tothe woman who had called them. Although the Police tried to get more information,all she would say was that Sam Samson had made a call and had shown her the batteredface of someone. She did not know where this had happened. Again, she would notsay who or where she was. She made it clear that she and the person she was with didnot want to be involved with the Police but she wanted the Police to find where thebeaten woman was and to help her.[24] At around 3.07 am, [a vehicle] with [a] phone in it arrived at the motel. Soonafter that, the vehicle with the [] phone in it was tracked while making its waytowards West Plains Road, consistent with it travelling towards the Oreti River. ThePolice later located the knife from the motel, a blue singlet that had been worn byAzalia, her baby's bassinette and other items that had been taken from the motel at theOreti River.[25] Around 4.30 am, the associate turned up at the house of his former partner. Hewoke her and asked if she was alright.[26] Later in the morning, you were driven to an address in Invercargill. Around5.00 am, you borrowed a car which had been parked at that address.[27] Over that Sunday, there was information in the media that a body had beenfound at the Bavarian Motel and the Police were looking for you. There was alsoinformation circulating on social media amongst your associates that Ms Wilson'sbody had been found and you had killed her.[28] On that Sunday, you drove to Christchurch and, in the evening, met with afriend. She had not seen the news or been party to the social media messaging aboutwhat might have happened. She saw that you were distressed. She asked what hadhappened. You told her that you had snapped. She was in a car with you as you droveto a motel. She then read an article in the media about a female having been founddead in a motel. You told her that something had happened in the motel and you weregoing to hand yourself in to the Police in the morning.[29] I am satisfied that, with all that was said between you and this witness, as shedescribed in her evidence, you were then acknowledging that you had killed MsWilson. At your request, she went to the Warehouse and bought some clothes, bodywash and other items for you and two cell phones. You gave her the money and toldher you wanted the cell phones because the Police would be tracking you.[30] On the Monday, you went back to Gore and met your friend Reon Taki. Youtold Reon Taki that it happened quick, when you were angry about the associate andAzalia. You also called and left messages on the phone of the mother of anotherdaughter of yours who lived in Christchurch. The theme of your messages and theconversation was that you were sorry to her for what had happened and all that hadresulted. Both that mother and Reon Taki encouraged you to give yourself up to thePolice. On the Monday night, Reon Taki took you to his father's address near Wairio.They intended for you to rest there for the night and anticipated that in the morningyou would give yourself up to the Police.[31] But, during the night, you left that address and drove to a point near the ClifdenBridge near Tuatapere. You were picked up in the early hours of the morning andtaken to the Ascot Hotel by your sister.[32] At approximately 8.00 am on Tuesday 19 November 2019, you gave yourselfup to the Police at the Invercargill Police station.[33] At around 11.00 am on Sunday 17 November 2019, the Police went into theBavarian Motel unit and found Azalia deceased, lying naked across a double bed. MsWilson had been brutally killed. Her baby was not in the motel.[34] I need, unfortunately for the family, to detail some of the injuries and evidenceas to that which I heard evidence of.[35] The autopsy identified that she had suffered extensive bruising of the entireright side of her face, a fracture of the jaw and bruising around both eyes. There wereskull fractures and extensive subdural haemorrhages. There was extensive bruisingand abrasions under the left side of the jaw. There were two bruises over the front ofher neck consistent with choking. There was a 45 mm long full thickness incisedwound through her left cheek. There was bruising at the junction of the left neck andchest, and a 50 mm bruise on her right upper chest. There were a series of bruises onthe right side of her abdomen. There was a 100 mm x 50 mm bruise on her left lowerback and a 60 mm diameter bruise on her right lower back. There were stab woundsto the left of her navel, a stab wound to her right flank and a stab wound to her rightlower back. There were two stab wounds just above her pubic area which would nothave been life-threatening. They could have been inflicted when she was unconsciousor even after her death. She had bruising on her right shoulder and right upper arm.There were significant cuts on her left thigh, right lower leg and left lower leg. Thepathologist considered that a number of the cuts could have been defensive wounds.In other words, caused as she struggled to defend herself against your attack.[36] The pathologist considered the cause of death was blunt force injuries of thehead, face, neck and abdomen with there having been compression of the neck andalso incised and stab wounds of the face, neck, trunk and limbs.[37] Just as the two people who had observed the Facebook Messenger video callhad said when you showed them what you had done, her face and body were so badlybattered that she was unrecognisable.[38] You bashed Azalia about the head sufficient to cause fractures to her jaw andskull. You punched her with a closed fist. At some point, you stamped on her nakedtorso, leaving the foot print of your boot. She has suffered bruising to the neck,consistent with choking. You obtained a knife from the motel drawer, a knife laterfound at the Oreti River. You cut Azalia on the face, leaving a significant lacerationnext to her mouth. She had a number of deep cuts to her thighs and torso.[39] The ESR examination of blood established there had been significant bleedingon the bed. At some point, Ms Wilson had also been in the bathroom, bleeding, butshe had been left on the bed where she was ultimately found.[40] The two stab wounds above her pubic area were not life-threatening. I amsatisfied they were inflicted to humiliate her, demonstrate your anger towards her andpunish her for what you believed had been her infidelity to you.Submissions[41] I deal now with the submissions that have been made, very carefully, by allcounsel.[42] The Crown refer to various aggravating features of what was clearly a brutalkilling. They refer to aggravating features relating to you personally because of yourprior convictions. They say life imprisonment has to be imposed and the only issueon sentencing is the minimum period of imprisonment (MPI). They argue that s 104of the Sentencing Act 2002 applies, so the Court must impose a minimum term of 17years.[43] Mr Donnelly also referred to other cases where the Court has had to sentenceoffenders for murder in the context of a domestic relationship.1 He submits that anMPI of 17 years would be consistent with sentences imposed in similar cases, puttings 104 to one side.[44] Today, Mr Donnelly acknowledged the information that had been provided justquite recently through the s 27 report and what you had told the writer of that reportabout your background. In my view, generously, he accepted that those were mattersthat the Court could take into account and that they were matters that often are takeninto account. But, he said, even if those matters were to be acknowledged, ultimatelythe Court has to decide whether it would be manifestly unjust for you to be sentencedto life imprisonment with an MPI of 17 years. He suggested that any credit that youmight have been entitled to and that might have been appropriate, that could mean theMPI would be less than 17 years, would be matched by the uplift that the Court wouldhave to consider because of your criminal record and your history. And, he basicallysubmitted that one would cancel the other out so that your sentence still has to be lifeimprisonment with an MPI of 17 years.1 R v Mete [2020] NZHC 1573; Te Hiko v R [2019] NZCA 41; R v Akash [2016] NZHC 2348; andR v Eddy [2014] NZHC 1543.[45] Your counsel, Mrs Ablett-Kerr QC, submitted the appropriate interpretation ofthe jury's verdict is that, sometime between 2.00 am and 2.40 am on 17 November2019, likely prompted by irrational jealousy, you became enraged and violentlyassaulted Ms Wilson and that her injuries were the result of serious violence. MrsAblett-Kerr drew attention to the pathologist's evidence that some of the wounds mayhave been inflicted after Ms Wilson's death.[46] As to the aggravating features the Crown had referred to, your counsel submitsthis should not be considered as a premeditated murder. They submit it was the resultof a relatively sudden but highly violent and irrational rage, consistent with evidencethat you told others it was quick and you had snapped, and the evidence of others that,when at the party, you had been acting in a caring way. They suggest the fact that thiswas domestic violence should not automatically result in a longer sentence by way ofgeneral deterrence and denunciation. They suggest the way to deal with thisacknowledged widespread concern as to domestic violence in New Zealand is througheducation.[47] By way of mitigation as to you personally, Mrs Ablett-Kerr referred, in detail,to information in a s 27 report that was obtained from an Invercargill solicitor, Ms KeriKereru. She reported on what you and your mother had said about your upbringingand the time you spent in State care and on the street when you were young, and theway this has affected you.[48] Mrs Ablett-Kerr reminded the Court that the purposes and principles ofsentencing include assisting in an offender's rehabilitation and reintegration and thatthe Court must impose the least restrictive outcome that is appropriate in thecircumstances.[49] Your counsel accepts that the murder falls within the ambit of s 104(1)(e) ofthe Sentencing Act. She however argues that, with your particular background and thematters referred to in the s 27 report, it would be manifestly unjust for you to have anMPI of 17 years. She argued that an appropriate MPI would be in the region of 15 anda half years.My analysis[50] I need to hold you accountable for the harm you have done and make it clearhow the Court denounces what you have done. I need to deter you and others fromcommitting the same or similar sort of offence. I need to protect the community fromyou, particularly women who you might be in a relationship with. Amongst otherprinciples that are important in your sentencing, is the need for consistency withsentences for similar offending and information concerning the effect of youroffending on the victims, including Ms Wilson's whānau.[51] The loss of life is inherent in murder but, in this case, the harm you have doneis an aggravating feature. You killed a young woman who had so much to live for andwho was committed to doing her very best for her daughter, also your daughter. Youdeprived your daughter of the love and support of her mother.[52] It is an aggravating feature of this offending that it occurred in the context of adomestic relationship.[53] Associated with that was that this murder involved a gross breach of trust. Youand Ms Wilson may not have been in a relationship where you were living togetherbut, as parents, you shared a baby daughter who you were responsible for. If only forthe sake of your daughter, Ms Wilson should have been able to trust you to keep herfrom harm. Instead of honouring that trust, you killed her.[54] Ms Wilson was vulnerable. She was vulnerable because of the time andcircumstances in which you attacked her, when she had no other adults near who couldcome to her defence, when your attack on her occurred in the early hours of themorning when she would have had no warning of what you were going to do. Shewas vulnerable because of the difference between you in size and strength.[55] It was an aggravating feature of the murder that you used a weapon in theattack. Some of the wounds were inflicted when you were attacking her with a knifeand she was trying to defend herself, but there was the significant cut to her face. Asharp weapon was used to inflict the stab wounds just above her pubic area. She maynot have been alive or conscious when those wounds were inflicted but that wounding,whenever it occurred, was of a particularly callous nature.[56] The violence which killed Ms Wilson was premeditated. I am satisfied that,for weeks before you killed her, perhaps throughout the time you were involved withher when she was back in Invercargill and living with her mother, you believed that,in some way, she was involving herself, or could involve herself with other men in away that you would not tolerate and that you would be jealous of. You demonstratedthat with the evidence as to what happened when Ms Wilson's family went to therestaurant and from what occurred on the night she was staying with her friend andyou ended up bashing on the door of that house at 3.00 am. Ms Wilson was aware ofthe potential for violence, as she demonstrated when she locked all the doors at hermother's home after your angry outburst towards the family on the night of the dinner,and the way she initially kept the door shut on you when she and her baby werespending a night at her friend's place.[57] I do not know what prompted you to latch onto the associate, who you calledon Facebook showing what you had done, as a person she was involved with, but youmust have developed that belief that there was such an involvement before you leftTillermans in the early hours of Sunday 17 November 2019.[58] I am satisfied that you knew you were going to be violent towards Azalia whenyou got into the taxi on Dee Street and, during the trip towards the motel, you knewwhat you were going to do when you got there. I am satisfied, from the taxi driver'sevidence, that throughout that trip you were in an agitated state and you knew thatsomething bad was going to happen and that it would have consequences for you. Thatwas why you insisted on giving the taxi driver $150 for what was only a $15 fare.English was not the taxi driver's first language but he understood you to be agitatedabout something to do with family. I have been urged by your counsel to treat the taxidriver's evidence, as to what you said to him before you got out of the taxi, withcaution because the taxi driver had not provided that detail when first spoken to by thePolice. I accept, from all the taxi driver said, that he was telling the truth when herecalled that, before getting out of the taxi, you said to him that he would see you inthe news, or words to that effect. So, you knew before you went into that motel thatyou were going to inflict extreme violence on Ms Wilson.[59] I acknowledge you told friends that you snapped and that it was quick. I donot consider those statements likely reflected what actually happened. Her death didnot occur quickly. She suffered a sustained beating. She was able to go from thebedroom where the main attack occurred to the bathroom. I consider that, when youmade those statements to your friends, you were trying to minimise the horror of whatyou had done. I consider that what you said in making those statements was asdishonest as your statements to several people that you loved Ms Wilson. A personwho genuinely loved the mother of their child would not have been as controlling,possessive and threatening as you were in your relationship with her.[60] Your killing of Ms Wilson did not result from a sudden and short-lived rage.In the conversations you had in the days immediately after her death, you werecontinuing to express extreme anger about the supposed relationship she had with theassociate. You expressed a wish to kill him if you could, which would have been justas you had killed Ms Wilson. You told the mother of your daughter in Christchurchthat you wanted to wipe the associate out. I am satisfied that you had been similarlyangry and intent on violence towards Ms Wilson when you went back to the motel inthe taxi.[61] In certain conversations that occurred after that night, you said you were sorryfor what you had done but, to the extent you have apologised, it has been because ofthe consequences for your family of what you have done. There had, I would say upuntil today, been no tangible acceptance of responsibility or remorse for what you didto Ms Wilson and for the devastation that resulted for her family. That is one of theways in which there is a significant distinction in this case from what happened in thecase of Mete which Mrs Ablett-Kerr referred to me.2 I said up until today because Iwatched you as you heard the victim impact reports being read.2 R v Mete, above n 1.[62] During the trial, you remained completely unemotional except for one pointand that was when the pathologist was going through the evidence. Throughout thetrial, you simply looked straight ahead and were, as I say, unresponsive. But when thepathologist was going through his evidence, you had your head down in your hands,you could not look up and look ahead. To me, that was a time when perhaps youshowed and acknowledged the horror of what you did.[63] Today I saw, from your face and the way you were reacting, real upset athearing from the family, of the grief they have been caused. So, I acknowledge that.And, it is because of that, that there is hope for you. Because that sort of emotionwhich you showed is consistent with your having a degree of compassion and kindnessthat was spoken of in the references that were put before me today from people whoknew you in a different way.[64] Every murder is callous and involves violence but an aggravating feature ofthis offending is the extreme violence you inflicted on Ms Wilson. I do not need todescribe again the injuries that she suffered.[65] With all the evidence I heard in this trial, I am satisfied that your belief MsWilson was involved in a relationship with the associate was irrational.[66] In a similar way to you perhaps having a delusion about that relationship, inphone calls you made to your mother in the early hours of the Tuesday morning, youdemonstrated an intense and irrational belief that the Police were going to shoot you,which led you to flee from Reon Taki's house and drive during the night towards theClifden Bridge. It was irrational because, although the Police were armed andregarded you as dangerous, with the support you had from your friends, you had theoption of telling the Police where you were and of giving yourself up to them in amanner where you would have been safe, Just as you were when you walked into theInvercargill Police Station on the Tuesday morning.[67] Putting s 104 to one side, the aggravating features of this murder were suchthat an appropriate starting point would have been life imprisonment with an MPI of17 years.[68] As your counsel responsibly accepts, s 104 does apply. This was a murdercommitted with "a high level of brutality, cruelty, depravity, or callousness".3 Youinflicted injuries to Ms Wilson's head that were so brutal as to leave herunrecognisable. There was particular callousness in the wounds you inflicted to herpubic area. There was a high level of callousness in your leaving her, the mother ofyour child, unrecognisable, either deceased or close to death and naked in a motelroom for others to, at some point, discover.[69] Through s 104, Parliament has said that the minimum period of imprisonmentmust be 17 years unless that would be manifestly unjust.[70] Your counsel urges me to take into account the information put before the Courtthrough the s 27 report. If the information you and your mother gave to the writer ofthat report is true, then you suffered from an appalling upbringing, [], that you werediagnosed as suffering from post traumatic stress disorder as a young child, that youtried to kill yourself at the ages of 6, 8 and 11, and suffered both physical and sexualabuse when in State homes.[71] The value of this report is however limited through the fact it is based purelyon what you and your mother have told the report writer. You described the personyou had spoken to, when talking to the probation officer who wrote the pre-sentencereport, as being a psychologist.[72] She is not a psychologist, she is a lawyer, albeit with the benefit of being Māoriwith academic achievements regarding Māori society, Te Reo, Māori history, Māoriland law, the Treaty of Waitangi and Māori media. But those qualifications do notmean that I have to give more weight to what she says you told her. But I acknowledge3 Sentencing Act 2002, s 104(1)(e).what Mrs Ablett-Kerr said in that she was a person who perhaps you had been willingto open up to in ways that you have found difficult, perhaps impossible, in ways thatyou were not prepared to open up to when you were speaking to the Department ofCorrections probation officer.[73] Ms Kereru also interviewed your mother, and she provided information whichwas consistent with what you had told Ms Kereru.[74] In the case of Mete, there were two detailed psychologist reports which gavethe Court the benefit of independent expert information as to the offender'sbackground.4 Given the reliance in that case, I should also say that I have re-read thatcase. There are significant distinctions in that case from yours. One of them was thatMr Mete pleaded guilty and acknowledged the offending, he had a history of drugaddiction and there are significant differences in other ways from your case.[75] I am concerned that I did not have the benefit of independent informationwhich may well have shown that the information you had given to Ms Kereru was thewhole picture because there are circumstances in which a background like that willlead to a reduction in an otherwise appropriate starting point sentence. You refused todiscuss your upbringing with the probation officer who prepared the pre-sentencereport for this sentencing. You told her it was because you had spoken of all of that toa psychologist a few days earlier. You have previously been sentenced toimprisonment. A probation officer then would have had to prepare a report for yoursentencing. That probation officer would have wanted to know what, if anything, youhad to say about your upbringing. If there had been any of the information which hasbeen referred to in that s 27 report, it was certainly information which a court neededto have at the time of your earlier sentencing, as indeed it needs to have now.[76] There is also some information in the s 27 report which is not consistent withinformation in the pre-sentence report prepared by the probation officer. There is noindication in the s 27 report that any of your foster care placements were safe or4 At [18].supportive of you. The probation officer preparing the pre-sentence report however,with your agreement, contacted someone who continues to be a friend to you, a personfrom one of the families you were fostered with. This friend said you had lived withhis family from the age of 7 or 8 for about four years, that his family still considersyou a brother. He said that he did not know you as an aggressive person, describingyou as "a fantastic loving caring guy who has the family at the forefront of his life".Despite knowing you through four years of your life and at a time when, according towhat you told the report writer, you were a very troubled child, he was flabbergastedat what had happened with Ms Wilson. What he said about your time with that familyis now supported by a reference that I received from his mother. There was clearlyone family you were placed with who you did not suffer from.[77] The s 27 report informs me that your te taha wairua (spiritual wealth), te tahahinengaro (mental and emotional wellbeing), and te taha whānau (family strength)have all been impaired because of a history of family violence, sexual abuse, physicaland mental abuse and layers of unresolved grief. Despite that, the pre-sentence reportsays that you were proud of managing to be in paid employment between the ages of18 to 28. I now have references that show you were rightly proud of what you achievedin this regard.[78] I do proceed on the basis that some or even most of the information in the s 27report as to your background might be true, but I do not consider the information inthat report could reduce the culpability or blameworthiness of what you did to MsWilson.[79] The information in the report does not explain how, in your relationships withwomen with whom you have had children, you have been intensely distrustful,possessive, controlling and jealous. That background does not explain why you couldnot tolerate the prospect of someone you were involved with being involved sociallywith others in a way that you could not control. The background does not explain whyyou think that, when a woman you are involved with does not act in the way you want,you are entitled to inflict on them or threaten them with the most serious violence.[80] There is no mention in the s 27 report of your witnessing violence betweenyour parents after the incident when you were four and your parents separated. Thereis no mention in the s 27 report of your witnessing in the foster care placementsviolence between people in relationships of the sort that you have been guilty of.[81] The pre-sentence report says you are close to your whānau. In interceptedtelephone conversations you had with your mother early in the morning of the Tuesdaybefore you gave yourself up to the Police, you thanked her for the love she had showntowards you.[82] Had there been a basis for me to have regard to your upbringing as a mitigatingfactor relating to you personally, I do consider it would have been more than matchedwith what would have been an appropriate uplift for your offending history. Your firstconviction for male assaults female was in 2006. You received a deferred sentence in2010 for a common assault in the nature of family violence. On 10 July 2018, youwere sentenced to one year and 10 months' imprisonment for offences of contraveninga protection order, injuring with intent to injure and theft in a family violence contextfor offences committed on 29 September 2017. You were sentenced for those offenceson 10 July 2018. You were subject to sentence release conditions at the time you killedMs Wilson.[83] During your trial, the Court heard what I can only describe as harrowing andchilling evidence from a former partner of yours, who also had a child to you. Shewas in a relationship with you for around two years. She recalled a first incident whenyou punched her multiple times in the face, enough to cause her to bleed a lot over thesheets of a bed. You grabbed the hair on her head and pushed her face into the bed soshe could not breath. You kicked her repeatedly in the stomach. She was trying to tellyou to calm down. As you beat her, you threatened her with more violence. A secondincident occurred not long after your son was born. She remembered you becomingextremely angry with her, kicking her to the ground, choking her from behind andthreatening her as you did so. She thought she was going to stop breathing. Sheremembered waking up on the couch and found she had wet herself when unconscious.Afterwards you said to her "you're only breathing because I let you". You told herthat, if she told anyone, "you would kill her". Her evidence was compelling. Sheshowed considerable courage in being a witness.[84] The pre-sentence report said that you refused to discuss the relationship youhad with Ms Wilson and you denied having been in a relationship with her, as you haddone with Corrections during the management of your release conditions. Theprobation officer advises that, until you are willing and able to open up and discussand explore what a healthy relationship might look like, you remain a high risk ofreoffending in a violent manner against any female you might be in a relationship withor through links you have by way of your children. Your overall risk of harm, basedon the current offending and your past offending, was assessed as being high. Withall the evidence I heard, I agree with that assessment.[85] I consider that, with your previous offending, the need for deterrence andprotection of the public would have required an uplift that would have more thanmatched any discount that might have been available because of the way you weredamaged by your upbringing.[86] There is thus no basis for me to find there would be a manifest injustice in yourbeing subject to 17 years' minimum period of imprisonment which s 104 wouldotherwise require me to impose.[87] You will be an older person before you are released from prison if the ParoleBoard ever considers it will be safe for you to be in the community. If and when youare released by the Parole Board, it will be under conditions designed to keep thecommunity safe. If you breach such conditions or are in any way seen to be a risk ofcausing further harm, you will be recalled to prison.[88] It is important that you and all those who have been affected by Ms Wilson'sdeath recognise that the sentence for murder is truly a life sentence. But I recognisethat no sentence can make up for the death of Azalia Wilson.[89] But, even with the lengthy time you must spend in prison, there is potential foryou to work towards a situation where the Parole Board might one day consider yourpotential release on parole. And, I acknowledge the information that I was given byMrs Ablett-Kerr as to your appreciating that ending your own life would not bringsatisfaction or compensate for the suffering that you have caused as far as Ms Wilson'sfamily is concerned. You do still have potential.[90] You say you have a connection to your Marae. You have the support of yourfamily. You have the support of the people who provided references for you. Anumber of these refer to your capacity to show kindness and compassion towardsothers and the love you express for your children. During the trial, I heard evidencefrom some of your friends. They knew what you had done and why you were on therun from the Police. They were compassionate enough to want you to give yourselfup to the Police and to help you do this. They were concerned for your safety. In theiractions, they gave you an example of compassion which was completely lacking inthe way you killed the mother of your child. But, perhaps it is an example which youwill remember when you work towards making something of your life later on. Evenwith a life sentence, you will have the opportunity to do so.[91] There will however be a significant risk for any woman you might be in arelationship with unless you can acknowledge that, the way in which you sought tocontrol the lives of women you were in a relationship with and the way you were orthreatened to be violent with women, put them at the risk of huge harm. The tragedyfor all present here today is that, with Ms Wilson, that harm was her death.[92] Mr Samson, please stand. Following your conviction for the murder of AzaliaWilson, I sentence you to life imprisonment with a minimum period of imprisonmentof 17 years.[93] Please stand down.Solicitors:Preston Russell Law, InvercargillJ M Ablett-Kerr QC, Barrister, DunedinH T Young, Barrister, Invercargill.