Henderson resident Angela Joy Smith was beaten and stabbed to death in May 2020. Photo / Supplied
Henderson resident Angela Joy Smith was beaten and stabbed to death in May 2020. Photo / Supplied
A West Auckland man previously deemed unfit to stand trial for the beating and stabbing death of a woman two years ago has been found to have been involved in causing her death.
Ricky Rafferty was one of two people accused of murdering Angela Joy Smith after a night of heavy drinking on May 13, 2020 - the first day of relaxed restrictions, allowing for small gatherings, amid New Zealand's first nationwide Covid-19 lockdown.
Rafferty was found unfit to stand trial last June because of mental illness, so Justice Edwin Wylie oversaw a multi-day involvement hearing last week under the Criminal Procedure (Mentally Impaired Persons) Act instead of a typical criminal trial.
The hearing was similar to a judge-alone trial, with contested evidence, but Wylie's decision was based on the "balance of probabilities" rather than the more stringent "beyond a reasonable doubt" standard required for criminal convictions.
The judge announced his decision at the High Court at Auckland yesterday, but it was suppressed until today after a request from defence counsel Peter Davey.
Rafferty - a large-statured man who slowly shuffled into the courtroom with a cane and a walker, his long, grey beard tied into a knot with a rubber band - sat silently as the decision was announced. However, he became more animated, shouting obscenities and threatening self-harm later in the hearing after the judge ordered him to stay at the Mason Clinic psychiatric facility until his next hearing.
"I hope you have a f***ing heart attack, you s***heads," he yelled as he was led out of the courtroom by security. "I'm not going to Mason Clinic!"
The Henderson unit where 49-year-old Angela Joy Smith was stabbed to death. Photo / Dean Purcell
Justice Wylie said that while making his decision, he considered the lies Rafferty told a detective, evidence Rafferty's DNA was found underneath Smith's fingernails, evidence of Rafferty's DNA on two kitchen knives found at the scene, and his co-defendant's blindness and smaller stature.
"Ms Smith's blood was found on your clothing," the judge also noted. "Your bloody footprints were found both inside and outside of Ms Smith's flat.
"The evidence points strongly to your involvement in the assault...which resulted in her death."
Crown prosecutors Henry Steele and Erandi Rangamuwa called to testify or submitted statements from about 30 witnesses last week.
During the sentencing last month of co-defendant William Shane Heremaia, who was found guilty of manslaughter instead of murder during his own trial, Rafferty was portrayed as the main aggressor that night.
Police searched the home of Ricky Rafferty in West Auckland after the stabbing death of Angela Joy Smith in May 2020. Photo / Dean Purcell
Smith was found by a pathologist to have died from multiple blunt force and cut injuries. She suffered broken ribs, a damaged shoulder blade, severe bruising, swelling to her face and a brain injury, and there was evidence of stomping, heavy punches or kicking. She was also stabbed in the chest and received a non-fatal wound to her neck.
The Henderson resident, 49, was a devoted solo parent who "had a heart for people and cared for her community", her brother said in a victim impact statement at Heremiaia's sentencing.
"What is hard for me to deal with is the degree of pain Angela suffered," he said.
With Rafferty's involvement in the killing now decided, the next step will be a disposition hearing in which a judge will decide if he should be held indefinitely as a special patient at the Mason Clinic. A date for the hearing has not yet been set.
