Con artist murderer given 17 years non-parole

The convicted murderer of an elderly Taranaki widower was sentenced today to life imprisonment with 17 years non-parole.

In the High Court at New Plymouth, Justice Paul Heath told Julianna Shontel Nuku, 47, he had no doubt the killing of Bernard Boylan in Inglewood on April 25 last year had a high degree of brutality, cruelty, depravity and callousness against a man in frail health.

Earlier her defence counsel Barry Henderson asked for a non-parole sentence of about 14 years.

Nuku continued to assert she was not involved in Mr Boylan's murder but that hit men had killed him. However, she was remorseful and took responsibility for what they had done.

She accepted she had a gambling addiction that was out of control.

Justice Heath said Nuku had an appalling 25-year history of theft and deception which had all the hallmarks of a con artist.

Her conduct towards Mr Boylan had been morally bankrupt.

Mr Boylan was a vulnerable, frail old man who had trusted her and she had deceived him by telling him the money he gave her was to pay her debts rather than to be fed into pokie machines.

She later told a pack of lies to cover her actions after she bashed him to death with a heavy steam iron.

She then put his body into the back of his stationwagon, leaving it on a rural road near Waitara. His body was found on April 27.

Justice Heath said he did not accept Nuku was remorseful. Any remorse was for herself in the predicament in which she now found herself.

"There are no redeeming features," he said.

On the eight charges of fraud, when she had forged cheques from his account before disposing of Mr Boylan's body, Nuku was sentenced to one year on each, to be served concurrently.

- nzpa