Colin Blithe was described as a "good mate" to everyone who knew him at his club.
Colin Blithe was described as a "good mate" to everyone who knew him at his club.
A man choked to death by his neighbour had contacted mental health services with concerns about him about a week before his death.
Timothy David Buchanan, 34, had been diagnosed with paranoid schizophrenia and subject to a community treatment order since 2009.
On January 14 this year, he attacked his 68-year-old neighbour, Colin Blithe, in their shared accommodation in central Napier, putting him in a chokehold on and off for about 15 minutes.
When he released the hold, Blithe started to regain consciousness. Buchanan then reapplied the chokehold until his victim died.
Blithe has been described by family and friends as a kind and loving man and a “good mate with a good heart”.
Members of his family made emotional victim impact statements when Buchanan appeared in the High Court at Napier on Tuesday, having been found not guilty of murder by reason of insanity.
“I wish it was your life that you took that night, not my Dad’s,” daughter Christina Blithe told Buchanan, who was appearing via audio-visual link from a clinical facility.
“Your actions have broken me as a person ... yet here you are, the one getting rehabilitated.”
Sister Felicity Blithe said her brother would never see another person go without if he had the capacity to help them. He had spoken out in the days before his death, trying to get help for the man who killed him.
A Crown summary of facts said Blithe worked as the property manager for the shared accommodation where they lived with other tenants on Emerson St in Napier.
Police outside the shared accommodation where Colin Blithe and his killer both lived on Emerson St, Napier. Photo / Warren Buckland
The other flatmates had become concerned by Buchanan’s behaviour, and in early January, Blithe served him with a two-week eviction notice.
He also contacted the Hawke’s Bay Mental Health Team, and allowed them access to the flats to speak to Buchanan.
On the day before the killing, a doctor assessed Buchanan and found that he was “more psychotic than baseline”, refusing medication, and would benefit from being admitted to residential care.
However, there were no beds available at the mental health inpatient unit.
On the evening of January 14, Blithe and Buchanan spoke about tenancy matters and the discussion escalated, the summary of facts said.
Buchanan then attacked and choked Blithe, killing him. In between the two incidents of choking, he walked around Blithe’s room, rifling through personal items and photographs.
After killing Blithe, Buchanan took a painting off his victim’s wall and hung it in his own room. He also tried unsuccessfully to use the dead man’s bank card at an ATM.
High Court Justice Cheryl Gwyn found the act proven on July 19, but after receiving medical reports deemed Buchanan not criminally responsible on the grounds of insanity.
In court on Tuesday, she ordered Buchanan detained as a special patient under the Criminal Procedure (Mentally Impaired Persons) Act.
The order will require him to remain in a clinical facility until he is no longer deemed to be a risk to the community. The Minister of Health will determine how long the order stays in force.
Justice Gwyn said Blithe’s death was the third incidence of violent conduct by Buchanan.
Blithe’s body was found on January 15 after two friends from the nearby Bay City Club, where he was a long-term member and had previously served as vice-president, went looking for him.
His friends had not seen him for a couple of days and had become concerned for his welfare.
Bay City Club president Blu Corlett later described Blithe as a “good mate to everyone here that knew him, with a good heart and a good soul”.
Niece Heidi Boyer said that when she closed her eyes to sleep at night, she saw the “red and purple bruised face of my Uncle Colin”.
She said having to phone her father and tell him his brother had died was the hardest thing she ever had to do.
“The Hawke’s Bay Mental Health Team have failed. They have failed my uncle, they have failed his family and they have failed the defendant,” she said.
Justice Gwyn said Blithe’s death may have been avoided had a bed been available in the mental health unit.
David Warrington, the general manager for the Mental Health and Addictions Group of Te Whatu Ora Hawke’s Bay, said he acknowledged all those impacted by the tragic circumstances of Blithe’s death and extended “deepest sympathies” to the family.
“Mental health care is inherently complex, and whilst Te Whatu Ora is unable to comment on individual cases, it can advise reviews are undertaken when serious adverse events occur, focusing on lessons to be learned and continuous system improvement,” Warrington said.
“An independent review into this specific case is currently under way.”
The case was prosecuted by Napier Crown solicitor Steve Manning. Buchanan was represented in court by barrister Matthew Phelps.
Where to get help
If it is an emergency and you or someone else is at risk, call 111.
For more information and support, talk to your local doctor, hauora, community mental health team, or counselling service. The Mental Health Foundation has more helplines and service contacts on its website.
Ric Stevens spent many years working for the former New Zealand Press Association news agency, including as a political reporter at Parliament, before holding senior positions at various daily newspapers. He joined NZME’s Open Justice team in 2022 and is based in Hawke’s Bay. His writing in the crime and justice sphere is informed by four years of front-line experience as a probation officer.
