KEY POINTS:
Whangarei Black Power gang member Nathan Fenton will learn this month how long he will spend behind bars for the murder of his girlfriend Mairina Dunn.
Fenton, 31, pleaded guilty last month to murdering the 17-year-old on August 27.
He subjected her to a 90-minute beating using a sawn-off shotgun in a house in Holmes Ave, Otangarei. The P-fuelled murder was witnessed by three people, who were helpless to stop it for fear they too would be attacked.
After the killing, Fenton fled and police hunted him for 11 days.
He met up with his ex-partner, Eileen Everitt, 29, and went on the run until they were caught near Whananaki on September 7. Last month, she pleaded guilty to being an accessory after the fact to murder.
Fenton and Everitt's appearances were excused when the case was called in the High Court at Whangarei on Thursday for a sentencing date to be set.
Fenton's lawyer, Arthur Fairley, said he had been instructed to ask for sentencing to take place in Auckland because it would be more convenient for Fenton and his family. The Crown opposed that application and Justice Harrison refused to grant it.
No members of Ms Dunn's family were present for the short hearing.
Justice Harrison set down the sentencing for Fenton and Everitt for Wednesday week. Fenton will receive a mandatory life sentence but Justice Harrison asked Crown prosecutor Phillip Smith to make sure submissions were filed by next week over how long Fenton should serve before being eligible for parole.
- NORTHERN ADVOCATE (WHANGAREI)
