Elliot Prakash appeared in the High Court in Christchurch today. Photo / NZME
Elliot Prakash appeared in the High Court in Christchurch today. Photo / NZME
A Christchurch woman isolating at home with Covid-19 was battered to death with a hockey stick by her boarder and sometimes lover after she presented him with a letter telling him to move out amid ongoing threats and abuse.
Valerie Heaney, 64, was found dead in the hallway of her Bromley home on April 4. Elliot Ajay Prakash, 43, was later charged with her murder.
Today he pleaded guilty to that charge and the details of her death can now be published.
Heaney, a carer at a service provider for people with intellectual disabilities, was isolating at her home with Covid-19 when she was killed on April 3.
Justice Mander allowed the summary of facts to be published after the hearing.
It can now be revealed that Prakash was a boarder at Heaney's home and the pair engaged in a sexual relationship but maintained separate bedrooms.
On April 3 the pair were watching a game of rugby together when a heated argument developed.
Heaney then wrote Prakash a letter advising him he had one week to leave the property.
She noted that his threats and abuse towards her were the reason.
When she handed the letter to Prakash he screwed it up and threw it in a corner of his bedroom.
Heaney then sat down at her dining table to write a second letter, further explaining why she wanted him to move out.
In the letter, she outlined some of the threats Prakash had made including "I'll see you end up in the ground like your daughter".
Heaney's daughter, Natasha, who had Down syndrome, died in 2021.
As Heaney sat writing Prakash came up behind her and took to her with a hockey stick. As he repeatedly hit her around the head she tried to flee, making it to the front door where she left bloodied handprints.
Val Heaney was a respected carer. Photo / Supplied
Prakash forced her back into the house and Heaney fell face down in the hallway.
He kept assaulting her.
The court heard it would have been obvious to Prakash that Heaney was dead.
It was unclear exactly how many times he hit her but she suffered at least 10 blunt force trauma wounds to her head and lacerations including one that was more than 9cm long.
Heaney's skull was fractured into " many" pieces and part of it landed on the floor near her body.
She had defensive wounds to her hands including fractures.
After he killed Heaney, Prakash went to bed then left the house at 6am the next day and went to work.
He called police just before 5pm the next day claiming he had arrived home to find blood on the door.
He said he had not been inside and police officers arrived soon after and located Heaney. Prakash denied having anything to do with her death.
However, he was later charged with her murder.
Val Heaney, 64, was found dead inside her Walcot St home in the suburb of Bromley on April 4. Photo / George Heard
Members of Heaney's family were in court today and others dialled in via a video link. They earlier told the Herald they were "grieving the loss of a much-loved family member".
"Our family has been inundated with support and we are grateful for this," they said in a statement released through police.
"Val was a carer for people with intellectual disabilities, and a community support worker, which is a testament to the kind, wonderful person she was.
"We are grateful to the support of the police and Victim Support, and are desperate to know exactly what happened to Val."
Heaney had lived in Walcot St for decades and started running her family home as a boarding house after her husband Gavin died around 13 years ago.
The experienced carer preferred to get "mature age group" boarders, according to previous advertisements and it's understood that three or four people would be living there at a time.
