Murderer changed plea 'for selfish reasons'

The partner of an Auckland businesswoman who was bound and thrown into the Waikato River says her killer pleaded guilty for selfish reasons, and may not have wanted his family to see his confession to police.

Dean Joseph Shepherd, 45, of Manurewa, yesterday admitted he murdered Thai-born New Zealander Darunee Aphiromlerk in October 2004.

The jury in the High Court trial at Auckland was due to see a police video of Shepherd's confession and a video reconstruction in which he took police to the railway overbridge and demonstrated how he threw Ms Aphiromlerk into an inlet.

Martin Coogan, who had planned to propose to Ms Aphiromlerk before she was killed, said Shepherd never had a defence.

"I suspect he pleaded guilty now rather than allow the jury to see the confession and maybe allow his family to see it as well.

" ... I think his change of plea was purely for selfish reasons."

Crown prosecutor Richard Marchant said at the start of the trial that Shepherd, a tenant who owed money to Ms Aphiromlerk, went to her flat in Manurewa about 9pm on October 3, 2004, but after an argument he took her to a spare bedroom, where he bound her hands and feet, gagged her and covered her in a duvet.

Later that night Shepherd drove her to Mercer, in North Waikato. He carried her, wrapped in the duvet, to a spot near the Whangamarino Stream and dropped her off the overbridge into the stream, where she drowned.

Her body was found by a fisherman in Mercer.

A couple of days later Shepherd took Ms Aphiromlerk's BMW car and a television from her flat, dumping the car in Epsom.

Shepherd's lawyer, Allan Roberts, said his client had decided to change his plea just after the trial began.

"I suppose once you sit down and listen to it all the enormity of it all just kind of sheets itself home," Mr Roberts said.

Mr Coogan said he was relieved that justice had been done.

"If it wasn't for the diligence and hard work of the police he could have got away with it."

He said society had lost a "wonderful" person and been left with a murderer.

Detective Senior Sergeant Gary Lendrum said Shepherd had made a "full and frank" confession and wanted to unburden himself. Shepherd was remanded in custody for sentencing on September 8.

- Additional reporting by NZPA