Dimetrius Pairama was found dead at a derelict house in July 2018.
Dimetrius Pairama was found dead at a derelict house in July 2018.
WARNING: GRAPHIC CONTENT
A then-16-year-old who is accused of having helped to torture and murder 17-year-old Dimetrius “Precious” Pairama five years ago had significant intellectual impairments at the time that would have made her “highly suggestible” to those around her, a neuropsychologist testified today as the defence began presenting evidence.
The defendant suffers from foetal alcohol spectrum disorder, Dr Valerie McGinn told jurors in the High Court at Auckland, explaining that her executive function scores were lower than 97 per cent of the population.
“She can make simple decisions when there are no complex things to take into account,” the expert witness testified. “But her decision-making is still impaired when compared to a neurotypical person her age.”
The defendant, now 21 and with continuing name suppression, is the final of three people who were charged with murder after Pairama’s horrific July 2018 death. Prosecutors have said the victim was repeatedly punched and stomped on, forced to disrobe and tied naked to a chair with soiled underwear stuffed into her mouth, had her hair hacked off, was burned on sensitive areas of her body with a makeshift blowtorch, had household chemicals poured on top of her, burning her eyes, and was ultimately forced to choose the method of her murder: hanging or stabbing.
Although the current defendant declined to testify today, her lawyers have acknowledged she was one of four people in the Māngere house that morning and she participated in some of the torture.
Pairama died by hanging and co-defendants Ashley Winter, then 27, and Kerry Te Amo, 24, were found guilty by a jury the following year. The current defendant did not join the pair at that trial. Jurors in the current trial were told for the first time today the current defendant was previously found incompetent to stand trial and has been held as a special patient in the Mason Clinic psychiatric facility.
A fourth person who was at the house, then 14, was never charged with murder - she was instead given immunity in exchange for her co-operation with police and testimony at both trials.
During the defence’s opening address today, lawyer Philip Hamlin acknowledged the tough ordeal jurors have had over the past three weeks of often gut-wrenching testimony.
“In this case it’s difficult - you’ve heard lots of things you’d prefer not to have heard, I’m sure,” he said. “Please try to remain objective, without prejudice, and remain fair to [her]. It’s very difficult in cases of this nature.”
The evidence from the neuropsychologist, the only defence witness, should shed light on what the defendant was thinking at the time of Pairama’s death, he said.
“She did nothing to help with the hanging,” Hamlin said. “She felt that sort of thing had gone too far. She didn’t intend to kill Ms Pairama and she didn’t intend to help Ms Winter and Mr Te Amo kill Dimetrius either.”
Her disability is “a significant factor” in determining that intent, he said.
A woman with name suppression is on trial in the High Court at Auckland, accused of having helped to kidnap and murder 17-year-old Dimetrius Pairama in July 2018. Photo / Michael Craig
“This evidence is key evidence in understanding where [she] fits in, how she thinks, how she doesn’t. I ask you to stand back at this point - look at all the evidence you’ve heard and put it in this context.”
Foetal alcohol spectrum disorder, otherwise known as FASD, is a result of brain damage caused by a mother’s drinking during pregnancy. People who suffer from it can have a variety of different impairments and can often blend into society much better than people with other cognitive disabilities such as Down syndrome, but that often means they don’t get the support they need, Dr McGinn told jurors today.
Many also suffer a “vulnerability to exploitation”, she said.
The defendant, McGinn said, had never been diagnosed with FASD until she was tested after Pairama’s death.
In the tests administered by McGinn, the defendant was found to have a “very low” IQ in the 60s, enough to be considered a disability by the Government. Her verbal comprehension was considered lower than 98 per cent of the population, with language skills roughly that of an 8-and-a-half-year-old. Her reasoning and social understanding were found to be that of a 7-and-a-half-year-old.
She needed to use her fingers when doing simple addition, the neuropsychologist said.
“Pretty much everything was impaired, but in everyday life, she does have some better skills,” McGinn said, explaining that she “miraculously” could spell at a 15-year-old level and was also good at the process of reading, even though she often didn’t understand what was being read.
On a test of her suggestibility, she got 15 out of 15 questions wrong, indicating she is more suggestible than 98 per cent of the population.
“That is quite common with people with FASD,” McGinn said.
“With poor social understanding and being kind of gullible and [having] low common sense, when in a complex social situation, they have got significant difficulties understanding what’s going in. They tend to be quite easily led and [don’t] appreciate what the consequences might be...”
As the complexity of a social situation increases, she said, it reaches a point where people with FASD become “overwhelmed” and even less capable of problem-solving.
Crown prosecutor Claire Robertson suggested during cross-examination of the defence’s expert witness “numerous reports” have observed the defendant to be strong-willed rather than suggestible.
One report described her as having a good presence of mind and being a good leader at church, while another described her as “assertive and able to articulate her point of view”, Robertson said. In another report, she was reported as saying, “I act dumber than I am. It gives me everything I need.”
McGinn disagreed the observations are significant. She also disagreed with the Crown’s suggestion the defendant might be exaggerating or purposely tanking some of the cognitive tests.
“I don’t think being in a disability ward in Mason Clinic is the same as a real-life experience,” she said of the observations. “If she’s in a safe, monitored environment ... then she can function within that.”
Prosecutors did not call any rebuttal expert witnesses.
Lawyers are expected to deliver closing addresses tomorrow when the trial continues before Justice Kiri Tahana and the jury.
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.
