Man admits botched burglary murder

File photo / NZ Herald

Family and friends wept and held up photographs of 62-year-old Gaylor Alice White as the burglar who bashed her to death pleaded guilty to murder in the High Court at Christchurch today.

One man made a hissing noise from the public seating as Shaun Timothy Skilling, 22, pleaded guilty to the four charges, and then shouted "I'm your nightmare, Skilling", as the young man was led back to the cells for a February sentencing.

The Crown believes Mrs White would have never put up a fight and might have only woken momentarily while Skilling was burgling her Aotea Terrace house. It says she was bashed to death with a hammer as she lay in her bed.

Skilling pleaded guilty to four charges: murder, two house burglaries and unlawfully taking Mrs White's car.

Justice Graham Panckhurst remanded him in custody for sentencing on February 3. He asked for a pre-sentence report and victim impact statements to be prepared.

Crown prosecutor Claire Boshier said Skilling broke into a Huntsbury Terrace house on February 17, using a trowel he found on the property to force a window. He took jewellery and electronic gear, and sold some of the jewellery at a Riccarton gold business.

On the night of February 18, Skilling biked to Mrs White's home and forced a window with a screwdriver. He searched the home and then went upstairs to her bedroom, where she appeared to have been sleeping.

He struck her around the head with a hammer, causing severe injuries which quickly led to her death.

There was no evidence of a struggle and she may have woken only momentarily before losing consciousness as a result of the injuries, Miss Boshier said. The evidence suggested she was struck while lying in bed by someone standing beside the bed who inflicted 10 blows.

It was not known whether Skilling took the hammer there or found it at the property.

He covered Mrs White's head with an item of clothing from the bedroom, left the hammer on the bedroom floor, then piled property into her car and left the scene in the vehicle.

He sold some items to a friend for a part-payment of $100, sold some of Mrs White's jewellery at the business in Riccarton for $239, and drove around in the car for the day.

He told friends he transported that day that the car belonged to his grandmother. He also told them that he had hit a woman on the head with a hammer, he had just killed somebody, and that "I'll be in jail next week - I think I have killed someone".

"You'll see it on the news in a few days' time," he told a friend.

Skilling was interviewed on February 20, when he admitted searching the house and taking property. Forensic tests later linked him to the murder scene. Blood spots were found on his shoes and a sweat shirt in his car.

Police have recovered some of Mrs White's property from people Skilling had sold it to.

Skilling stood in the dock throughout the arraignment, flanked by prison officers and looking upset.

- NZPA