Mahia tangi assault: Brothers bashed ‘disrespectful’ mourner unconscious, dragged him to a ditch and left him there

Ryan Ormond, left, and Harland Ormond in the Gisborne court. Photo / Gisborne Herald

A seriously injured man was left lying in a ditch for two hours without medical help after being brutally bashed by two brothers at a tangi.

Now one of the men, who grew up in a dysfunctional household where he was allowed to drink alcohol as a toddler, has been jailed for the violent assault while his brother has been given home detention.

The attack happened in February last year after the brothers - Ryan and Harland Ormond - were told the victim had been disrespectful to their late father and aggressive towards mourners gathered at a house in Mahia, northern Hawke’s Bay.

They were there to farewell Jose Osborne Ormond, known as Juicy, who had died the day before.

Justice Christine Grice said during their sentencing that the victim had been left with serious and permanent injuries, including a brain bleed and skull fractures, after the brothers, aged 28 and 25, attacked him.

“A tragic aspect of this is that the victim respected and looked up to your father and had come to pay his respects at the tangi,” Justice Grice told the brothers at their sentencing hearing. “He was … also grieving.”

Justice Grice said that Ryan, the main aggressor, punched, stomped on and kicked the victim in the head and body. His younger brother punched him in the head, rendering him unconscious.

One or both of them then dragged the victim across a road and into a ditch.

Ryan then seriously assaulted the man again while he lay unconscious, stopping only when Harland intervened.

Justice Christine Grice said the victim was left in a ditch for two hours before being airlifted to hospital. Photo / Bevan Conley

The victim suffered a severe traumatic brain injury, a punctured lung, a number of broken ribs, a lacerated liver, and significant bruising to his face and body, stomach and legs.

Neither of the brothers called emergency services or sought medical assistance.

“He was left unattended, lying in the ditch for over two hours before he was airlifted to hospital,” Justice Grice said.

“When a 111 call was finally made - over an hour after the assaults - you, Harland, spoke to the operator and gave them a false name.”

People in the house told police that the victim had ridden his bicycle into the ditch.

The judge said Harland had tried to stop Ryan from inflicting further harm on the victim following the initial attack, which may well have prevented the situation becoming much worse.

“I noted that there was heightened emotional distress for both you and Ryan, you had been drinking and you had been mourning the immediate loss of your father. Which goes some way to explain your actions,” she said.

Cultural reports for the brothers described a dysfunctional upbringing, with socio-economic deprivation as well as early exposure to drugs, alcohol and violence.

Harland’s counsel, Tiffany Cooper KC, said in the High Court at Gisborne that the older brother had been drinking alcohol from the age of two.

Justice Grice said the victim suffered severe injuries, which had changed his life forever.

“His independence has been taken away from him and he remains disabled despite a year of rehabilitation,” she said.

Both brothers pleaded guilty after receiving sentencing indications.

Ryan was jailed for three years and six months. His jail sentence was discounted after the judge was told he was a well-regarded worker who had taken a leadership role in helping clean up in the district after Cyclone Gabrielle.

Harland was given 10 months of home detention.

Michael Blashcke appeared for the Crown and Alistair Clarke for Harland.

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.