Darren Couper appears in the High Court at Auckland for sentencing after a jury found him guilty of wounding with intent to cause grievous bodily harm of MMA fighter Kevin "Honey Badger" Hay, who was stabbed to death by Couper's friend. Photo / Michael Craig
Darren Couper appears in the High Court at Auckland for sentencing after a jury found him guilty of wounding with intent to cause grievous bodily harm of MMA fighter Kevin "Honey Badger" Hay, who was stabbed to death by Couper's friend. Photo / Michael Craig
But the self-defence claim disintegrated sometime after Couper’s friend and former co-defendant fatally stabbed Hay in the back, causing the initial aggressor to no longer pose a threat, the judge who oversaw the trial acknowledged this week as he rejected Couper’s bid for a sentence of home detention instead of prison.
“You certainly got the upper hand, becoming the aggressor,” Justice Peter Andrew said as he outlined the defendant’s “disproportionate force”: about 60 punches, two kicks to Hay’s head and two stomps on his hand.
“Ultimately, gratuitous acts of violence were carried out.”
Couper, 58, and co-defendantPeter Robert Greene, 57, were both initially charged with murder in August 2022 after Hay, 50, was found critically injured on a berm near the home, located near the border between Auckland suburbs Hillcrest and Northcote.
Couper’s charge was reduced months later to wounding with intent to cause grievous bodily harm after pathologists determined the cause of Hay’s death had been the two stab wounds inflicted by Greene rather than the blows administered by Couper.
At trial in March, jurors in the High Court at Auckland found co-defendant Greene’s self-defence claim credible, acquitting him of murder. But Couper’s continued assault was found to be a step too far. Couper was also found guilty of aggravated assault on a police officer who said he was eye-gouged by the defendant when authorities showed up to arrest him on the same night as the fight.
Justice Andrew repeated several times during this week’s sentencing hearing how “unusual” the circumstances of the case were - with the person who killed Hay free but the person who inflicted the non-fatal injuries facing a substantial sentence. It was important to remember, he emphasised to the crowded courtroom, that Hay’s death was not a direct result of the blows Couper delivered.
Darren Couper, 58, appears in the High Court at Auckland for sentencing after a jury found him guilty of wounding Kevin "Honey Badger" Hay with intent to cause grievous bodily harm. Couper's co-defendant, who fatally stabbed Hay, was found not guilty of murder. Photo / Michael Craig
The judge also acknowledged that Hay was “an experienced MMA fighter and sadly someone with a violent background”, while Couper had good reason to believe he was “in the fight of your life”. It was a confrontation that all sides agreed Hay started with little to no provocation.
The judge was less equivocal in describing the assault on police, rejecting - as did the jury - that Couper’s treatment of officers was justified due to claims they had used excessive force in arresting him.
“When police arrived at the scene you were combative,” the judge said. “You were understandably agitated after the fight of your life, but that is no excuse.”
‘Softie at heart’
The judge referred briefly to victim impact statements from Hay’s daughter, sister and partner, as well the officer whose eye was gouged, but he declined to have the statements read aloud in court. It’s clear, he said, that Couper’s actions had a “significant impact” on all of them.
Partner Laney Murray spoke with the Herald because she wanted him to be remembered for more than the portrait painted of him during the trial, when for purposes of the defendants’ self-defence claims jurors were allowed to hear about some of Hay’s lowest moments involving substance abuse and mental health crises.
Known by the nickname “Honey Badger”, the grey-haired, barrel-chested victim was “a softie at heart” adored by those who loved him, including his children and grandchildren, she said.
Victim Kevin Hay was described by partner Laney Murray as a "softie at heart" who loved to teach martial arts and counsel others who were struggling.
A student of Brazil-based combat sport luta livre and catch wrestling, he earned a black belt from renowned fighter and coach Babel Sambueza in 2022, becoming the Babel Fight Club’s New Zealand representative. He relished his role as teacher and coach, Murray said.
“Kev was always for the underdog - he hated bullies after being bullied himself in his younger years,” she explained. “He gave every person he met his time. He was genuinely interested in everyone he met and was always polite and very well articulated ...”
He trained people from all walks of life, often for free, including self-defence for women and trips to local youth centres.
His Facebook page, with almost 70,000 followers, constantly featured free step-by-step tutorials for those interested in the sport. It was also an open book about his personal life and struggles including anxiety, addiction and recovery.
RONIN MMA NZ
💯 CATCH THE BRUTAL ART 💯
SORRY I haven’t posted enough of Kevs vids but I hear you!! Here are some 🙏🏼💕💯
#catchthebrutalart #roninmmanz #catchwrestling #mma #sambo #luchalibre #lutalivre #grappling #submissions
“He’d unintentionally opened a portal for men and women to have a place to talk, to feel no shame, to reach out,” Murray recalled. “Sometimes Kev would be on the phone till the small hours talking someone down from off the ledge, so to speak. I’d get up, make him a cup of tea and go back to bed.
“I didn’t realise just how many people he counselled until he died and I received calls and messages steadily right through the night from people he’d helped or just listened to ... He was a humble man and a kind man.”
She said one of Hay’s biggest life achievements occurred just months before his death, when he became the New Zealand representative for the sport he loved so much - earning a spot alongside idols whose DVDs he had collected for decades.
“I was so proud of him and so happy he’d been recognised - he deserved to be,” Murray said. “He deserved to go on in life and open his gym, do what he not only loved but had dedicated his life to ...
“He just loved the art he practised and wanted others to love it too.”
‘Extreme, prolonged’ attack
Wounding with intent to cause grievous bodily harm carries a maximum punishment of 14 years’ imprisonment, while aggravated assault carries a punishment of up to three years.
During this week’s hearing, Crown prosecutor Belle Archibald asked for a starting point of six years’ imprisonment for Couper before factoring in any mitigating or aggravating factors such as his background.
“Mr Couper’s violence was extreme [and] it was prolonged,” she said, noting that CCTV footage of the fight that had been played over and over for jurors during the trial showed it to last about six minutes.
Police at the scene of Kevin Hay's death on Ocean View Rd, Hillcrest, in 2022. Photo / Ben Leahy
Defence lawyer Marie Dyhrberg KC sought a starting point of three years, with an end sentence of home detention after discounts for mitigating factors.
“What happened that night was out of character,” she said. “Mr Couper was faced with someone who was unpredictable, erratic and twice his size ... Mr Couper, despite the charges he’s facing, is not overall a violent person.”
She noted a letter of apology her client had submitted to the court, saying he “constantly regrets the whole incident and how it turned out”.
“This really is a tragedy for everyone,” Dyhrberg said, suggesting that her client should receive a sentence reduction for the months of “that awful anxiety of the murder charge hanging over his head” before the homicide allegation was dropped.
Justice Andrew settled on a starting point of five years, adding six months for the assault on the police officer but then deducting nine months for his finding that Hay was “clearly the aggressor” at the outset and the elements of “excessive self-defence” on Couper’s part. He declined to deduct the sentence any more for drug addiction, pointing out that - although Couper smoked methamphetamine that night and it would have contributed to his agitated state - there was no evidence of long-term addiction.
Auckland-based black belt martial arts instructor Kevin "Honey Badger" Hay was stabbed to death in 2022. Darren Couper, who wasn't responsible for the stabbing but punched him repeatedly and kicked him in the head, has been sentenced to prison.
He did, however, allow an eight-month discount for his previous good behaviour and three months for the time he spent on electronically monitored bail awaiting trial, bringing his end sentence to four years’ imprisonment.
Deterrence and denunciation were important factors to consider, the judge said of his decision.
“The violence was serious [and] prolonged,” he noted, adding Couper ended the attack with the kicks to Hay’s head. While the injuries weren’t ultimately found to be life-threatening, it is unknown if there would have been long-term effects had Hay not died from the stab wound, he said.
Craig Kapitan is an Auckland-based journalist covering courts and justice. He joined the Herald in 2021 and has reported on courts since 2002 in three newsrooms in the US and New Zealand.
