Attacker of old woman at Christmas found guilty

A 34-year-old unemployed man has been found guilty of a vicious attack on an 89-year-old woman in her Rotorua home on Christmas Eve 2001.

Graham Kereama Hepi was charged with the home invasion on Lorna Herbert in March after giving police a voluntary DNA sample.

Mrs Herbert, now 94, suffered a broken jaw and was bound by her wrists and ankles during the attack.

A jury of six men and six women took less than three hours to convict Hepi of wounding with intent to cause grievous bodily harm and aggravated robbery. The verdict came at the end of a five-day trial in the High Court at Rotorua.

He was also found guilty of four charges of using a document for pecuniary advantage in relation to attempts to withdraw money with Mrs Herbert's bank card.

Hepi had denied the attack, telling police he was at a holiday park in Waihi on Christmas Eve 2001 and did not know where Mrs Herbert lived.

He elected not to call or give evidence.

In her closing address his lawyer Nicky Utting said what had happened to Mrs Herbert was awful, but Hepi was not the perpetrator.

Ms Utting told the jurors there were too many queries that would leave them wondering about the scientific evidence.

Earlier, the court heard that DNA found on Mrs Herbert's shoelaces and belt were "2000 million more times likely to belong to Hepi than any other male in the New Zealand population".

Hepi's finger and palm prints were also found at Mrs Herbert's home, the court heard.

However, Ms Utting said there were issues over the way the evidence had been dealt with and handled.

It was unclear where the shoelaces were kept for 23 minutes after they were cut off Mrs Herbert's wrists and ankles.

Hepi had told police he had a brother and there was a 25 per cent chance that the DNA found on some of the items could have belonged to the brother.

Ms Utting also submitted concerns over how the fingerprints were lifted and the way they had been transferred to the Hamilton police station.

She told the jury just because a witness came to court and said they were an expert did not mean everything they said was correct.

Rotorua Crown prosecutor Amanda Gordon told the jury that "science does not lie" and although siblings could have similar DNA they could not have the same finger or palm prints.

Hepi was remanded in custody for sentencing.