Kaine Van Hemert was jailed at the High Court in Christchurch for the December 31, 2019 murder of Bella Te Pania. Photo / Pool - Kurt Bayer, NZ Herald
A Christchurch man who attacked a sex worker in a blind rage has today been resentenced to spend at least 11 and a half years behind bars.
Kaine van Hemert was due to be admitted to a mental health facility on the day he picked up Bella Te Pania, 33, from Christchurch's red light district early on December 31, 2019 and murdered her.
The plasterer, 43, was sentenced to a finite term of 10 years' imprisonment with a minimum term of six years, eight months last December.
However, the Crown appealed the sentence, finding it too lenient, and the Court of Appeal found the original judge was wrong not to jail Van Hemert for at least 10 years.
Today, at the High Court in Christchurch van Hemert was resentenced to life imprisonment with a minimum non-parole period of 11 and a half years.
The court earlier heard that over Christmas 2019, van Hemert found out his ex-partner had a new man.
She noticed van Hemert's mental health started to deteriorate.
His bizarre actions included ringing the police and requesting a time machine so he could go back in time and shoot his father.
The police calltaker found van Hemert was "clearly paranoid".
His family found him in the shower, where he had been for many hours, swearing, ranting and banging his head against the walls.
Mental health authorities were brought in on December 30.
They found van Hemert to be "acutely psychotic", exhibiting paranoia, and talking incoherently to himself as if responding to voices.
He posed a risk to himself, it was noted.
The mental health crisis response team phoned police to have him committed, but there was going to be a delay.
It was concluded his mental health could be managed with medication, and he was left to sleep on the basis family would admit van Hemert to Hillmorton mental health facility the next day – December 31.
However, during the night he woke and took off.
Around 3.47am, van Hemert was seen driving a Mazda ute on Manchester St – the home of the city's street workers.
He stole number plates from other parked vehicles to hide his real registration.
Te Pania, who was working as a prostitute between Aberdeen and Salisbury Sts, was picked up by van Hemert.
They stopped in Burnside to talk money and services, and it was there that van Hemert claims she got angry and lashed out.
Van Hemert then pulled out a large knife similar to a fish filleting knife and stabbed Te Pania multiple times.
He then bashed her over the head several times with a rock.
CCTV later showed him driving erratically through the city. About 6.45am he drove into the secure Air NZ engineering site on Orchard Rd where airline staff called police.
Officers found the victim in the front passenger seat. She died soon after with extensive injuries, including knife wounds to her leg, face, abdomen and throat.
When van Hemert was interviewed later that morning by police, he alleged there had been altercation with Te Pania and that she attacked him.
He claimed he acted in self-defence, saying: "I sliced and diced her".
"I murdered her," he told police, saying that they both "saw red".
Van Hemert originally pleaded not guilty to murder but later admitted the killing.
Te Pania's family earlier spoke of the widespread grief caused by van Hemert's "cowardly" and brutal actions.
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