Former businessman threatened to cut off house sitter’s toe during brutal kidnapping

Nicholas Hambly has been imprisoned for his role in the kidnapping and beating of his former housesitter. Photo / NZME

A former businessman who savagely beat his house sitter, rupturing the victim’s spleen in the process, will spend the next six-and-a-half years behind bars.

During the brutal beating and kidnapping Nicholas Hambly heated a pair of garden shears on an element before placing the scorching blades around the victim’s big toe as he threatened to chop it off and make him walk to the hospital.

Hambly, 50, was sentenced yesterday in the High Court at Auckland for the July 2020 attack that spanned at least three days, resulting in charges of kidnapping, injuring with intent to injure, and both causing and threatening grievous bodily harm.

According to Justice Mathew Downs’ sentencing decision, victim Shane Walker had been house-sitting for Hambly for four days in mid-July.

Returning from a time away, Hambly noticed some of his hard drives missing and accused Walker or his associates of theft.

He repeatedly called and messaged Walker over the following four days, including one message which read “You f*** with me, I break your legs”.

As the judge read the message to the court, Hambly stood in the dock smiling.

On July 21, Hambly asked Walker to meet him at a friend’s house, alongside friend Michael Ford and another man.

Hambly handed Walker a cigarette as he stepped inside, before Ford landed a punch directly in Walker’s face. The three men told Walker he was not to leave, and he stayed at the house out of fear.

The next day, Hambly made Walker confess to the theft on camera, his injuries from the previous day visible on his face.

At some point following the confession videos, Walker and Ford repeatedly kicked and stomped Walker. He sat in the foetal position trying to protect himself.

One of the kicks caused “pain like I had never felt before”, Walker said. “I was in absolute agony.”

The beating continued before Hambly left.

Either later that day or the next, Hambly returned to the property where Walker was still inside.

Hambly heated a pair of garden shears on a kitchen element before placing them around the victim's big toe. Photo / 123RF

He made the already severely injured victim take off his shoes and heated some garden shears on a kitchen element to the point they were glowing.

The blades were placed around Walker’s big toe, with Hambly threatening to chop it off, give it back, and make Walker walk to the hospital.

Ultimately, Hambly did not chop off the toe.

In the early hours of July 24 while still at the property, Walker called an ambulance and was rushed to hospital. He underwent surgery for a ruptured spleen and wasn’t discharged for 16 days.

Justice Downs said the offending was aggravated by its premeditation, the fact it was vigilante justice, included an attack to the head which resulted in serious injury, and was conducted by multiple attackers.

“[Walker] continues to suffer emotionally and psychologically,” Downs said. “Your threat to cut off the victim’s toe was nasty. It bordered the sadistic. Mr Walker must have been terrified.”

As Downs made that comment, Hambly rolled his eyes.

Downs began with an eight-year sentence starting point. Hambly did not engage with a probation officer for the purpose of a pre-sentence report, but did protest his innocence.

With his rap sheet only containing a drink-driving offence from 1996, Hambly was “essentially” a first offender.

He had studied psychology, sociology and political science at university and had previously run a successful business.

But he later went “down rabbit holes”, subscribing to Covid-19 conspiracies and believing the government was undermining the rights of citizens.

“Your cultural report says you have an ‘inflated sense of injustice’, exhibit ‘interpersonal difficulties’, and may exhibit ‘paranoia’.”

The judge ultimately ruled Hambly’s “personality” played a role in the offending, and granted him a 10 per cent discount, as well as 5 per cent for his prior clean record.

He was also given a three-month sentence discount for “hardship in relation to the operation of bail”.

That resulted in a final sentence of six years and six months’ imprisonment.

Ford, who was also charged, pleaded guilty before he went to trial and was sentenced in April last year for his role in the attack. The other man, who was tried alongside Hambly, was acquitted at trial.

Ethan Griffiths covers crime and justice stories nationwide for Open Justice. He joined NZME in 2020, previously working as a regional reporter in Whanganui and South Taranaki.