Life sentence for Wellington murder

Stuart Graham Wilton in the dock at the High Court in Wellington. Photo / Mark Mitchell

The heartbroken family of Matthew Stevens, who was murdered last year, say the life sentence his killer received today gives them no real closure.

Mr Stevens, 32, lived in the Hutt Valley and was only weeks away from graduating with new trucking qualifications when he was killed eleven months ago.

At the sentencing of 28-year-old Stuart Graham Wilton in Wellington today, Mr Stevens' family spoke of their devastation at losing a "kind-hearted" son and brother.

Mr Stevens was stabbed to death and left in bush beside Paekakariki Hill Road last November.

His sister, Emma, read a statement to the High Court.

"He was my everything, my world. I absolutely adored him with all my heart."

Emma, 31, said she always idolised her brother.

"Matthew was a man with a kind heart and always there for me," she said.

"Sometimes my grief is so intense I cry in waves and feel completely wiped out."

She said she was a nurse and a teacher, who used to have a good job, but was now on a sickness benefit, overcome with grief.

Ms Stevens said she was trying to understand how her brother could have been killed so horrifically.

"Words cannot even begin to describe the loss and impact this has had on my life."

Some of Mr Stevens' friends and family, who filled the public gallery in the courtroom, wept as Emma read her statement.

Wilton occasionally glanced over at his victim's sister, but mostly looked down or ahead with little expression, the defiant posture of his previous court appearances largely gone.

Though Ms Stevens spoke of inconsolable sadness, she also voiced anger.

She said she could no longer teach the 45 children she loved, now had to live on a benefit, and had to navigate her way through a world she never imagined she'd have to face.

"My brother will never see my children, my wedding, or age with me. How anyone could do this to a person, to take their life, is beyond me.

"This I will carry for life. It's not temporary."

Mr Stevens' parents stood together outside court after the sentencing.

"We're overwhelmingly sad. It's changed or lives forever. It's not really closure," his mother said.

Wilton originally denied the charge but changed his plea earlier this month and admitted his role in Mr Stevens' death.

Justice Simon France said Wilton had shown some remorse.

"The tragedy is that awareness of the stupidity of it all always comes too late."

He said Wilton had several previous convictions, but they were mostly for property crimes, and no violent offences.

The judge thanked Ms Stevens and her parents for making statements to the court.
"The loss of Matthew Stevens has been felt terribly by his family," he said.

"The statements reveal that the family are shattered as they struggle to deal with the sudden and violent death."

Justice France said an especially bad aspect of the crime was the way in which Mr Stevens was treated after his death, and the attempted cover-up.

Mr Stevens' body was removed from the house where he was killed. As offenders cleaned the house, his body was placed in a van.

"The van was then pushed after him in order to suggest a car accident had occurred," Justice France said.

Because of this, the minimum non-parole period of Wilton's sentence was extended one year, to 11.

Kelly Leigh Crook, 28, and Darrin John Wilkie-Morris, who is in his mid-twenties, have pleaded not guilty. They're expected to stand trial in January.

THE DEATH OF MATTHEW STEVENS

Matthew Stevens was killed on Thursday November 27 last year, tricked into visiting someone who hid their intentions from him.

His body was dumped at night after a botched cover-up, his car abandoned beside quiet, scenic Paekakariki Hill Road.

The road winds from the Hutt Valley, where Mr Stevens lived, up to the Kapiti Coast.

In days after his death, a white cross was placed beside the road, with Matthew Stevens' name in block capitals.

It carried offerings and tributes - flowers, a bright balloon, even a few Christmas baubles.

The spot, overlooking Kapiti Island, sat in view of a lookout area near the hill summit.

Behind, pasture lined steep hills. Below, thick bush and grasses blanketed the slope down to the coast.

For a visitor to the quiet road, it seemed there'd be few if any witnesses to crimes committed here, especially under cover of darkness.

Apart from the litter - rusted beer cans, lining from a Nicorette patch, an empty bottle of Pump lemon-flavoured water, the scene was idyllic.

It was difficult to believe a sinister, elaborate hoax could have happened here.

On the hill by the road, long grasses lay flat where a few footsteps beat tracks. There were plenty of crawlspaces in bushes, plenty of places to hide.

Police didn't find Mr Stevens' body when they first searched the area near his car, early on the morning of Friday November 28.

A half-hour away, in the Hutt Valley suburb of Epuni, police guarded an Oxford Terrace house where forensic investigators worked.

In Taita, 5km away, Mr Stevens' sister Emma was too upset to talk in days after her brother's death, saying the family needed to focus on the grieving process.

Eleven months on, the grief continues.

Emma today addressed the court, which fell silent, apart from some weeping, as she spoke lovingly of her brother.

Wilton's guilty plea and sentencing may have provided some fleeting relief, but others alleged to have been involved in Mr Stevens' death deny the charges.

So the court appearances continue, the anger evident in the faces of Mr Stevens' friends continues, the re-living of a son and brother's last moments continues.