Family feel nothing for 'evil killer'

Mr Hemmings' widow, Jenny, and their children (from left) Jessica, Gareth and Meghann outside the High Court at Auckland yesterday. Photo / Steven McNicholl

The brothers of Austin Hemmings refuse to be angry with the man who killed their brother - they simply do not care enough about him.

"I tried to look at him but he's just another bloke," Craig Hemmings said after the guilty plea yesterday. "I'm not going to waste my thoughts and energy on him. He's a coward for attacking a woman... he's an evil guy."

Pauesi Leofa Brown, 47, pleaded guilty in the High Court at Auckland yesterday to murdering Mr Hemmings and assaulting his former partner's friend, Diane Nonu, with a knife.

Grant Hemmings said he tried to look at Brown as he stood in the dock but Brown avoided eye contact.

"The one thing I want is my brother back and it is the one thing I can't have. I'm not particularly interested in what happens to him."

The guilty pleas saved the Hemmings family the trauma of a High Court trial and made Mr Hemmings' elderly parents happy, Craig told the Herald.

Mr Hemmings' widow, Jenny Hemmings, said she was relieved she had been saved from the trauma of a two-week trial. "I am thankful that New Zealand is a safer place. Mr Brown will go to jail and serve a sentence," she said.

Mrs Hemmings said she sent a message to Ms Nonu - "to give her a big hug" - and planned to meet her at Brown's sentencing in December.

Mrs Hemmings said she hoped he was put away for "a long time".

"New Zealand does not need this man on our streets."

The family believes the case should prompt authorities to look at the laws regarding people carrying knives on the streets.

Craig Hemmings said he was asking the Government for tougher penalties.

He said the family had coped well over the last two months, drawing strength from their faith and friends.