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WARNING: This story may be distressing.
A Dunedin teenager says he killed the only person in the world he loved.
Jordan Taylor, 18, will now have at least a decade behind bars to come to terms with beating his mother Anita Jane Taylor to death with a 10-kilogram dumbbell.
Justice Melanie Harland told the High Court at Dunedin last month that given the background of emotional abuse, it was an “extraordinarily difficult” decision as to whether or not to impose life imprisonment for the murder.
A life term in such circumstances can only be avoided if it would be manifestly unjust, but the judge said there was a need to protect the community.
“I am not talking [about] the community at large, I am talking about people who you might enter close domestic relationships with in the future,” she said.
Jordan Taylor at his sentencing last month. Photo / Gregor Richardson
Justice Harland’s sentencing from October 18 was embargoed so the scope of suppression orders could be finalised, and a final decision was released this afternoon.
Jordan Taylor had been celebrating his 18th birthday at his Helensburgh home, drinking with his mother and his friend on January 13.
The defendant later said he had enjoyed the night, but shortly after he and the victim had been left alone, the tone changed.
He described an intoxicated Anita Taylor berating him for several minutes and telling him she wanted to die.
It was the worst thing she had ever said, Jordan Taylor told a psychologist.
“[He was] absolutely isolated and alone, without the skills to cope ... because of all that, he snapped,” counsel Sarah Saunderson-Warner said.
But Crown prosecutor Richard Smith highlighted some of the seemingly more deliberate aspects of the attack.
Jordan Taylor admitted turning out the hallway lights before going into his mother’s bedroom to bludgeon her.
He told one clinician he had never harboured violent thoughts towards her before, but after the first blow, he decided to “finish her off” with two more, while he told another it was actually four further blows, and it was to put her out of her misery.
The teenager then put a tea towel on the stove and turned it on, packed a bag and walked north.
However, four kilometres from his home, he phoned police and admitted to what he had done. Once they found the victim dead, they returned to where Jordan Taylor had made the call.
Police making door to door enquires at the Helensburgh Rd home following the murder. Photo / Gerard O'Brien
He was waiting in his bloodstained clothes, the court heard.
Justice Harland said the background to the case was pertinent.
While she spoke at length about the “complex” relationship between mother and son – much of which was suppressed – she reiterated nothing excused Jordan Taylor’s brutal actions.
“The relationship between you and your mother was characterised by her being verbally, emotionally and psychologically abusive towards you, while at the same time, being protective of you and loving towards you,” the judge said.
She described how Anita Taylor, who reportedly had “a fiery temper”, had isolated herself and her son from the wider family, and had created an unhealthy co-dependence as a result.
Justice Harland accepted the defendant felt extreme remorse for his actions.
“I think about her every day. I never meant to express any hatred towards her. She was the only person in the world that I loved. I feel awful for what I did. I feel deep remorse for my family, and I hope that they can forgive me,” Jordan Taylor said when interviewed.
“I hope maybe she is in a better place. I want to make sure to become a better person in prison ... I think alcohol had a big part to play ... I promise to not ever drink again.”
There was a large contingent of family support in court for the teenager, and Saunderson-Warner said they were now committed to being there for him.
Justice Harland said assistance would be vital, as would extensive therapy.
In imposing the life term with a non-parole period of 10 years, she urged Jordan Taylor to remain positive.
“This does not mean there is no hope for a better future for you,” she said.
Anita Taylor’s father David said the loss he had endured was “very severe”.
