The only person who would have known that Mr Karangaroa was their father’s cousin and friend was their mother, Juneallen Ormond. She wasn’t at the house at the time.
Neither were the brothers at that stage. They were phoned to come back by others at the house who were concerned about Mr Karangaroa’s loud and aggressive behaviour. He was using gang language and had made derogatory remarks about his cousin before giving the deceased man a hongi.
Mr Karangaroa’s location at various times was known due to his GPS detention tracker but exactly what happened after the Ormond brothers returned to the property is only known by them and close members of their family.
What is known, is that at about 9pm Ryan initiated a fight with Mr Karangaroa, in which Harland and another male, who for legal reasons cannot be named, were also involved.
Mr Karangaroa was punched, stomped on, and kicked in the head and body. He fell unconscious after Harland punched him in the head.
He was dragged across the road and thrown in a ditch. Ryan continued to assault the unconscious man until Harland stopped him.
Mr Karangaroa was left in the ditch for two hours until a neighbour called emergency services. Harland spoke to the operator claiming to be someone else and saying Mr Karangaroa had had a bike accident.
Before his arrest, Harland also tried to persuade others to “stick to the (accident) story”.
The brothers initially elected a trial but changed their pleas after a sentence indication. Ryan was relieved of an attempted murder charge, pleading guilty to intentionally causing grievous bodily harm. Harland pleaded guilty to injuring with intent and attempting to pervert the course of justice.
In harrowing victim impact statements, Mr Karangaroa and his family spoke of the irrevocable impact his injuries had had on their large whānau.
Mr Karangaroa spoke of his anger, how he didn’t want to see his attackers again and hoped the court would be mindful they had nearly killed him.
His mother said the family’s anguish began as he was airlifted to Waikato Hospital and learned he might not survive the trip.
His partner said there were “no words” to describe the emotional impact on their family. They had put their lives on hold. Mr Karangaroa’s life had changed forever; his independence had been “ripped” from him.
The different end sentences reflected the brother’s differing roles in the attack.
Prosecutor Michael Blaschke said the Crown accepted Ryan was responsible for the violence that caused the most serious injuries and that the outcome could have been even worse if Harland had not intervened.
Counsel Tiffany Cooper KC said Ryan’s offending was uncharacteristic. What unfolded that night was “a perfect storm of variables that all come together at the wrong time”.
Ryan was affected by alcohol, overwhelmed by his grief, and suddenly alert to his position as the oldest male in the family. He felt pressure to protect others and had defaulted to the violence that was normalised for him growing up.
On a positive note, he was assessed as a low risk of reoffending and his life had been steadily improving in recent years thanks to the influence of his wife’s family.
He was extremely hard working with a supervisory role.
In setting the indicated sentence starting points, Justice Grice took into account the men’s heightened emotional states due to their father’s death, and an initial degree of provocation.
Considering personal mitigating factors, the judge accepted the brothers’ upbringings were difficult and dysfunctional as evident from their cultural reports. She acknowledged their mother’s address to the court, taking responsibility for that poor upbringing and this offending.
The starting point for Ryan was nine years imprisonment with a month’s uplift for his previous relevant convictions. Discounts totalled 55 per cent - 15 for guilty plea, 25 for cultural report factors, 10 for psychological factors, five for remorse. There was an additional nine months for the 457 days he was on EM-bail.
The Crown had argued discounts should be limited to 45 per cent. There shouldn’t be any credit for time on EM-bail since Ryan was only granted it by mistake and wasn’t eligible.
However, the judge said recent legal authority allowed the bail discount, especially due to Ryan’s compliance even during the devastation that followed Cyclone Gabrielle. His family lost nearly everything and he had been vital in leading their recovery efforts.
Counsel Alistair Clarke said Harland had a strong sense of whakama (shame) about what happened. He was pained he didn’t know his father’s cousin.
The starting point for Harland was two years, two months imprisonment. Discounts totalled 50 per cent - 20 for guilty pleas, 20 for cultural report factors, five for his youth at the time of the offence, and five for remorse.
The judge converted the resulting 13-month prison term to 10 months home detention, saying it was the least restrictive outcome.
(ends)
