Hitchiker killer has appeal dismissed

A man who killed a hitchhiker and then dumped the body in the Waikato River in 2001 has had his appeal against his conviction for murder dismissed in the Court of Appeal.

Ratima Osborne, then 17, appealed his conviction for the July 2001 murder of Jason Johnson. Osborne pleaded guilty in May 2002 and was sentenced to life imprisonment.

The crown argued that Osborne, a gang member, picked up Mr Johnson up and took him to a secluded spot near the Waikato River. He beat Mr Johnson and then ran him over with his car and threw his body in to the river. The next day with the help of his father, Osborne torched his car.

The motive for the murder was unclear though in one version of events Osborne claimed Mr Johnson had made a homosexual advance which had provoked the incident.

Both Osborne and his father pleaded guilty on the day of their joint trial after earlier pleading not guilty.

Osborne filed a notice of appeal in 2008. The court granted an extension of time for appealing in May 2009 and the hearing took place in June this year.

Osborne appealed claiming he had made a mistake when entering a guilty plea because of bad legal advice and that he did not understand what he was doing when he entered the plea and felt rushed and muddled.

After considering the evidence of both Osborne and his then-lawyer, the court concluded that Osborne did understand what he was doing when he pleaded guilty.

The appeal court found that Osborne's lawyer Russell Fairbrother had given him realistic advice.

Osborne accepted the advice of his very experienced lawyer and all that had happened now was that, many years later, he had decided he would like to have another crack, the court said.

The appeal was dismissed.

- NZPA