A warrant to arrest has been issued for Whitney Iraia-Burgess in relation to a man’s murder in the early hours of Sunday morning in Grafton, Auckland. Video / NZ Herald
An Auckland Central sex worker who for unknown reasons lashed out at a customer with a knife - causing massive blood loss after one of the cuts severed an artery in his arm - has pleaded guilty to manslaughter.
Then-murder suspect Whitney Iraia-Burgess, 33, was the subject of a multi-day manhunt last year after father-of-two Daniel Otess was found dead in a pool of blood inside an Auckland carpark. Police at the time were tight-lipped about what had occurred between the two or their connection to each other, but court documents made public today have revealed for the first time what is agreed to have occurred.
“Guilty,” she said in a barely audible whisper, so quiet that Justice Mathew Downs asked her to repeat it.
Auckland City Police released this photo of Whitney Iraia-Burgess after a warrant for her arrest was issued regarding the death of Daniel Otess in Grafton in March 2023.
She had been set to go to trial in less than two months for murder, but that charge has now been withdrawn in lieu of the manslaughter admission.
Justice Downs accepted Burgess’ plea. He allowed her to remain on electronically monitored bail at a live-in rehabilitation facility until her sentencing in October but emphasised that the decision - unopposed by Crown prosecutor Brett Tantrum - was not to be mistaken as an indication that a non-custodial end sentence is likely.
“You have pleaded guilty to a serious charge - you have taken someone’s life,” the judge explained. “On that [sentencing] date, it is very likely you will receive a sentence of imprisonment.”
Carpark confrontation
Police launched an investigation last year after a group found Otess’ body beside a car in the open-air carpark on Grafton’s City Rd, near Symonds St around 5.20am that day. Police quickly identified Iraia-Burgess as the suspected culprit and sought the public’s help in locating her. She handed herself in after several days in hiding, authorities said at the time.
“Ms Iraia-Burgess and Mr Otess were not known to each other prior to the incident,” authorities noted in the summary of facts for the case, a document that was agreed to by both the Crown and the defence. “At about 4.20am ... [Otess’] vehicle stopped nearby where Ms Iraia-Burgess was standing on Liverpool Street.
Whitney Iraia-Burgess clutched a Bible as she appeared in Auckland District Court after her arrest for the alleged murder of Daniel Otess. Photo / Michael Craig
“The two had a quick conversation via the vehicle window and Ms Iraia-Burgess then got into the front passenger seat of Mr Otess’ vehicle, seemingly for her services of sexual activity.”
Police noted soon after the homicide investigation began that Otess had been captured on CCTV at a nearby petrol station an hour before the discovery of his body. It was revealed today that the defendant had been with him. He withdrew $100 before returning to the car.
After arriving at the “secluded” carpark, the pair parked diagonally in a corner.
“Soon after their arrival at 4.44am, Ms Iraia-Burgess and Mr Otess started a physical altercation outside Mr Otess’ vehicle,” court documents state. “Ms Iraia-Burgess pulled out an unknown weapon that was already in her possession. She slashed Mr Otess multiple times around the head, shoulder and the arm area.”
Court documents do not speculate what might have sparked the violent confrontation, but the outcome is described in detail. Suffering five “sharp-force injuries”, as well as blunt-force injuries to his nose and surrounding areas, Otess attempted to get back into his vehicle after the defendant fled the scene on foot with the cash he had withdrawn.
“However, due to massive blood loss from the wound to his left forearm, he collapsed to the ground and died next to his vehicle,” documents state. “The cause of death was the sharp force injury to the left arm.”
Family-oriented victim, religious defendant
The violent last moments of Otess’ life stand in stark contrast to the man remembered last year by friends in Auckland’s tight-knit Ghanaian community, which was left reeling after as it came to grips with the limited information about what had happened.
“New Zealand is considered by our community as a safe and peaceful country to live in but this incident has shaken that confidence,” Charles Ampomah-Dwamena, who serves as the West African nation’s honorary consul in New Zealand, said at the time.
Friends remembered Otess, 57, as a family man and as a “very calm person” who wasn’t known to seek confrontation.
“He will be missed by the whole community, he was a part of us,” friend Bright Duah, a member of the Ghana Association of New Zealand, previously told the Herald. “He was a lovely and caring family man. He had recently taken his family to Ghana to meet his parents there.”
Iraia-Burgess’ social media accounts showed a past connection with Destiny Church’s Legacy Sisterhood group, although a church official said she hadn’t attended meetings in years.
“The last contact we had with her was when she was needing a kai pack,” the official said when Iraia-Burgess was still considered a fugitive. “We have had no contact with her unless she reaches out for support.”
The defendant clutched a Bible throughout her brief first court appearance in Auckland District Court last year.
A building manager near where Odess was found dead told the Herald last year that the carpark had been for some time used as a gathering spot, causing problems in the neighbourhood.
“It’s an open carpark, anyone can go in and come out,” he explained, adding that more security was needed. “[Homeless people] cause a lot of problems. Housing NZ has placed them in the apartment right next door.”
Daniel Otess was found dead inside a central Auckland carpark on 12 March 2023. Sex worker Whitney Iraia-Burgess has now pleaded guilty to his manslaughter. Photo / Hayden Woodward
During today’s hearing, which lasted less than 10 minutes, mourners for Otess and supporters for the defendant sat on opposite sides of the small courtroom gallery.
Had Iraia-Burgess gone to trial for murder and been found guilty, she would have most likely faced a life sentence with a minimum term of imprisonment of at least 10 years - standard in all murder cases except on rare occasions when the defence successfully argues such an outcome would be manifestly unjust. Manslaughter convictions, meanwhile, also have the potential to result in a life sentence, but it is not mandatory and in practice is imposed very rarely.
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.
