Jason Wiremu Poihipi (left) was convicted and sentenced for the murder of Lynace Parakuka (right). Photos / NZME, Supplied
Jason Wiremu Poihipi (left) was convicted and sentenced for the murder of Lynace Parakuka (right). Photos / NZME, Supplied
A jealous man convicted of violently murdering his pregnant girlfriend, leaving her to die on the grounds of a Rotorua primary school, has failed in his bid to take his case to the Supreme Court.
In September 2019, Jayson Wiremu Poihipi was convicted of murdering 22-year-old Lynace Parakuka. Two months later, he received a life imprisonment sentence, with a minimum non-parole period of 10 years and six months.
The night Parakuka died, Poihipi claimed to have drunk 18 cans of Cody’s. After the bashing, he then sat next to her inert body in the field of St Michael’s School in Western Heights for 20 minutes before running to get help from his cousin.
When they returned to the field, Parakuka wasn’t breathing. The cousin performed CPR under the direction of a 111 call dispatcher until emergency services took over, but after 20 minutes Parakua was declared dead.
The pathologist who conducted the autopsy on Parakuka’s body uncovered evidence indicating she’d been punched in the head between 11 and 20 times, maybe more. She died from bleeding of the brain caused by blunt force injuries which could have been inflicted by a piece of wood, a hammer, or a hand.
Parakuka was also in her first trimester of pregnancy.
Last year, Poihipi took his case to the Court of Appeal to argue against his conviction.
Jayson Wiremu Poihipi has lost his bid to the Supreme Court. Photo / NZME
He said that in addition to the Cody’s, he was also under the influence of psychedelic mushrooms and had used methamphetamine a few days before. He did not disclose any drug use in his police interviews leading up to his case. He also did not tell his counsel about the meth use but said he had ingested mushrooms, which could not be confirmed.
Poihipi was advised by his counsel giving evidence of this would undermine the credibility of his police interviews.
In September, the Court of Appeal declined his bid and supported counsel’s advice that including testimony relating to the mushrooms would likely have hindered his case further rather than helping it.
He then took his case to the Supreme Court, applying for leave to have his case heard there, but failed to submit his application in time.
The Supreme Court granted an extension of time for Poihipi, allowing his application to be considered, but today the court said it ultimately dismissed the case.
The decision means Poihipi has exhausted all appeal options available.
Lynace Parakuka was 22 when her partner violently beat her to death in a Rotorua schoolyard.
In its written decision, the Supreme Court said Poihipi sought leave to appeal his case again on the grounds that his trial counsel failed to tailor his approach to accommodate a vulnerable defendant and failed to provide adequate advice on giving or calling evidence.
Poihipi is considered to have some level of cognitive difficulty and while not formally diagnosed, it is suspected he has foetal alcohol syndrome. He has poor comprehension and struggles to read and write.
In its assessment, the Supreme Court said the Court of Appeal rightly recognised that counsel have a duty to tailor their communications to account for any vulnerabilities of their client.
“Further, nothing raised indicates that the Court of Appeal was wrong in its assessment that trial counsel had appropriately adjusted his approach to account for Mr Poihipi’s impairment, that the advice was appropriate and that Mr Poihipi understood and accepted the advice given.
“Therefore, there is no risk of a miscarriage of justice.”
