28 Oct 2021
R v VAN HEMERT [2021] NZHC 2877
- Citation
- [2021] NZHC 2877
- Court
- High Court
Life imprisonment is imposed because the statutory presumption for murder applies and it is not manifestly unjust here; s104 factors (brutality, victim vulnerability, some premeditation) set a 17‑year starting minimum, which is reduced by 20% to reflect the defendant's significant mental illness and lack of prior violent convictions and further reduced by two years for guilty plea, resulting in a minimum period of imprisonment of 11.5 years before parole eligibility.