Murderer locked up for 16 years

Jean Houghton came home to a scene straight from a horror film - her mother's brutally battered body lying in the hallway.

Yesterday, Ms Houghton was in the public gallery in the High Court at Christchurch to see Justice John Hansen sentence Stephen James King, 47, for the "brutal and callous" murder of Ordette Lloyd-Rangiuia, 45.

"I know he's going to be away for a long time," Ms Houghton said afterward. "Some people would say 16 years is enough for murder but because it's my mum, no amount of time in prison could make up for it."

Justice Hansen had earlier sentenced King to life imprisonment for bludgeoning Mrs Lloyd-Rangiuia to death in their Spreydon, Christchurch, home.

King was told he would serve at least 16 years in prison before being eligible for parole.

"You left the house, locking it, knowing that it was almost inevitable that the first person to arrive back at the flat would be her 16-year-old daughter," Justice Hansen said.

"So it proved. I think that clearly comes within the term of a high level of callousness."

Outside court, Ms Houghton held back tears as she talked about the turmoil she had experienced since the murder.

"It's good the whole court thing is done but it still really doesn't change that much for me," she said.

Her uncle, Shane Lloyd-Rangiuia, said no sentence could be long enough for the murder of his sister and the effect it had on her daughter.

"No child should have to go through that experience," he said.

"No sentence does justice in our eyes. He'd threatened to kill her before. Someone with over 150 convictions should be put away before he can do something like this."

In court, the dead woman's family had to listen as King made a brief statement from the dock expressing his deep remorse for killing her, adding: "Words can't explain how sorry I am."

King - a career criminal - inflicted 46 injuries to Ordette Lloyd-Rangiuia, including 18 blows to her head with the blunt end of a log-splitting axe.

Prosecutor Mark Zarifeh told the court the murder was unusually brutal and callous, involving a prolonged attack with "horrific" violence.

"She was assaulted in the lounge initially and there was also blood found in the bedroom and it ended up in the hallway, where she was found the next day," he said
"He [King] also attempted to avoid capture and hid in Bottle Lake forest. There's a psychological effect on the deceased's family - and particularly Jean - of that.

"King claims in the pre-sentence report that it's not in his nature to be violent but he has 18 previous convictions with violent aspects and he's been offending for 30 years."

David Slater, defending, said all murders involved brutal and callous behaviour and he disputed that King's crime was so excessive as to justify the minimum 17-year non-parole period sought by the prosecution.

The day of the murder was King's birthday and he celebrated by drinking most of a bottle of tequila and smoking cannabis and methamphetamine.

Justice Hansen said he doubted the remorse claimed by King.

"You have an extremely long list of previous convictions - over 150 previous, including offences of violence including male assaults female," he said.

"They highlight your attitude towards women and I suppose something of this sort may well have been seen as inevitable."

The judge described as "somewhat unreal" Mr Slater's submission that the murder did not involve exceptional brutality.

"It seems when someone attacks a woman with a splitting axe and including the blows shown here, it would be unreal to suggest that there was no high level of cruelty or brutality.

"I also find it somewhat unreal that you claim remorse when you attempt to put some blame on the deceased herself. You said it was her who came out brandishing the murder weapon and you took it off her and then lost control. That doesn't sit well with your supposed claim of remorse.

"Your victim's brother and daughter, not surprisingly, talk of their loss and the appalling impact you've had on them and in particular the trauma the daughter has suffered from finding the body.

"No words could express the profound trauma and emotional upset they've suffered and will continue to suffer for the rest of their lives."

The judge said a 17-year term was justified, but he also had to allow some "extremely limited" credit for his guilty plea, two weeks before his trial.

The story so far

* Stephen James King, 47, battered his partner, Ordette Lloyd-Rangiuia, to death with an axe on January 31 last year.

* After the attack, which went from room to room in the house, he deliberately left her body to be found by her 16-year-old daughter.

* Last month King was sentenced to life imprisonment.

* Yesterday he was ordered to spend at least 16 years in prison before applying for parole.

- NZPA