Maera Todd , appearing on the Maori TV series ' Songs From The Inside ' . PHOTO/SUPPLIED
Maera Todd , appearing on the Maori TV series ' Songs From The Inside ' . PHOTO/SUPPLIED
The 87-year-old victim of a "very horrendous" offence died before learning the fate of the woman found guilty of robbing and kidnapping him.
Appearing in Napier District Court today, Maera Elizabeth Todd, 40, was sentenced to 3 years and 8 months jail, which was added to a sentence of 7 years 4 months - with a minimum non-parole period of 3 years 8 months - already imposed for similar offending in Christchurch.
Based on the judicial feature of "totality," Judge Bridget Mackintosh effectively created a sentence of 11 years' jail for the two offences, with almost five years before Todd would be able to apply for parole.
Todd had denied charges of kidnapping and robbing retired and now-late Havelock North businessman David Geor who was abducted by at least two people in his car from a Countdown supermarket in Hastings on July 28, 2018.
Two weeks later, on August 13, 2018, she and another woman robbed a couple in their 80s, in their Christchurch home.
While Todd admitted the Christchurch offending and was sentenced last year, she did not face the music in Hawke's Bay until a jury trial in which she was found guilty five weeks ago.
In the Hastings attack, Todd and an unidentified male approached their victim as he loaded groceries into his car.
The male shoved Mr Geor head-down into the rear footwell of his car, threatening to shoot him if he did not comply and if he did not hand over his bank card and disclose the PIN.
Dave Geor was attacked outside Countdown Hastings by a woman who denied having anything to do with robbing and kidnapping him. She has been sentenced to imprisonment after a jury found she was guilty.
The robbers then drove in his car to an ATM to steal $800 from his accounts and then left Mr Geor still cramped between the seats as they abandoned the vehicle near the carpark. He freed himself and raised the alarm at a nearby shop.
Judge Mackintosh said that while Mr Geor was not seriously injured physically in the attack, his security and confidence were hit significantly.
Within months he was unable to walk unaided, his health deteriorated and he died on February 2 this year, the judge said.
Victim impact statements were provided for the court by Mr Geor's widow Marion and the couple's son, but neither was present for the sentencing.
Saying it was "very horrendous offending," Judge Mackintosh accepted submissions by Crown prosecutor Jo Rielly that if the sentencing for both the Hastings and Christchurch robberies had been done at the same time the penalty would have been "around 11 years."
Todd, from Hastings, wrote a song called "Fatherland" which featured during the 13 episodes of television programme Songs From The Inside, which was produced in 2011.
The show featured top musicians entering Wellington region prisons Arohata and Remutaka to mentor selected musically-talented inmates.
In 2012 a warrant for Todd's arrest was issued after she failed to appear in Hastings District Court on charges including breaching parole.
Documentary director and Once Were Warriors actor Julian Arahanga said at that time that while the series had not been a vehicle for prisoner reform he was disappointed Todd had not made taken the opportunity and used the musical talent she had displayed.
