Tamati Wilson-Tipa appeared in the High Court at New Plymouth where he was sentenced to life imprisonment for the murder of Lionel Peat. Photo / Tara Shaskey
WARNING: This story contains graphic details of violence
A man with mental and physical disabilities who was subjected to regular beatings at the hands of his controlling flatmate begged for his life moments before he was killed.
Lionel Peat pleaded with Tamati Teariki Matene Wilson-Tipa “to stop hitting him and not to kill him” during a prolonged and vicious beating.
But Wilson-Tipa continued and tragically Peat, 59, was soon dead.
Now, the 34-year-old killer has been jailed for life with a minimum period of imprisonment (MPI) of 17 years.
On Wednesday, Wilson-Tipa appeared before Justice Francis Cooke in the High Court at New Plymouth for sentence on admitted charges of murder, assault with intent to injure, and representative charges of wounding with intent to cause grievous bodily harm and injuring with intent to injure.
The court heard how Peat, of South Taranaki, had endured more than a year of merciless, drawn-out bashings from Wilson-Tipa until, on December 2, 2022, he was beaten to death after an evening of hanging Christmas decorations and watching television.
A woman who witnessed the many instances of violence against Peat was also subjected to Wilson-Tipa’s beatings.
At his sentencing, Crown prosecutor Jo Woodcock submitted the murder was committed with a sufficiently high level of brutality.
She pointed out the victim was vulnerable due to his mental and physical impairments and had been subjected to serial abuse and control.
Woodcock submitted it was not manifestly unjust to sentence Wilson-Tipa to a life term, and argued an MPI of 18 years was an appropriate starting point.
She accepted a discount of one year could then be applied to reflect his guilty plea, but argued there was no causal connection between his background and his offending and so there should be no credit for personal circumstances.
But defence lawyer Paul Keegan submitted there were enough mitigating factors to reduce the MPI to 16 years.
Details provided in reports to the court materially affected Wilson-Tipa’s culpability, Keegan argued, particularly experiences in his formative years which created a causal connection to his offending.
Wilson-Tipa had been orphaned and abused as a child but went on to gain an education and successful employment teaching tikanga Māori in schools and te reo Māori to health and social workers.
However, following further bereavement in his later years, he turned to alcohol and other substances to cope.
A psychological report stated that Wilson-Tipa was likely suffering mood difficulties at the time of his offending.
“Whilst this may have impacted on his capacity to manage angry feelings, I [the doctor] consider more significant contributors to his actions at the time were his abuse of alcohol and his personality difficulties,” Keegan said, reading the doctor’s report.
Wilson-Tipa tended to manage relationships through power and control when conflict emerged, Keegan stated.
“These difficulties are understandable in the context of his adverse upbringing.”
Justice Cooke said the nature of Wilson-Tipa’s offending was brutal and cruel.
He said the attack was prolonged, Peat was particularly vulnerable and there were elements of premeditation.
“You attacked Mr Peat despite him begging you to stop. You did not stop even after you rendered him unconscious.”
Justice Cooke said cases of repeated violence in the home which ultimately led to murder attracted higher MPIs.
He took an MPI starting point of 18 years and then gave a one-year discount for Wilson-Tipa’s guilty plea.
But Justice Cooke did not accept his personal circumstances warranted a further deduction.
“You developed a very strong connection with your culture and were living a positive life, yet you have committed what can only be described as a brutal murder which was a consequence of a highly abusive relationship with Mr Peat.
“At a certain point, you’ve made choices in your life that have led you to where you are now.
“What your history suggests, it is not beyond you to be a good person but you have chosen not to be.”
The sentences on the violence charges will be served concurrently.
Wilson-Tipa was struggling to find a place to live when he met Peat in 2021.
While he lived independently, Peat suffered from a chronic mental health illness, for which he was medicated, and physical ailments.
A short time after the two met, Wilson-Tipa moved into Peat’s home in Hāwera, South Taranaki.
During this period, Wilson-Tipa was friendly with a woman he met on a dating site. He introduced her to Peat and the three would often hang out.
But as these relationships developed, Wilson-Tipa became controlling towards both of them.
They were sent to run errands for him, such as buying food and alcohol. When he became angry with Peat, he would send him to his room, sometimes without food.
When Peat and the woman, who has an intellectual disability, did not do what Wilson-Tipa demanded, he became violent.
Many attacks on the pair occurred from May 2021 to December 2022, including when Wilson-Tipa was drunk and repeatedly punched the woman after becoming angry at what she was wearing.
In another incident, the three were at the woman’s home when a drunk Wilson-Tipa became angry at Peat for “letting him down”. He delivered several blows to Peat’s face, ribs area and slapped his ears.
While Peat repeatedly apologised, the woman asked Wilson-Tipa to stop the assault. But he continued, grabbed a knife and held it to Peat’s throat.
In October 2021, a new flatmate moved into Peat and Wilson-Tipa’s home.
He told police that, during the three months he lived at the flat, there was not a day when Peat was not yelled at or hit by Wilson-Tipa.
Peat was threatened, punched and kicked about the body and head and would often cower on the ground, scared of Wilson-Tipa.
In July 2022, Peat had emergency surgery for a ruptured spleen. After his discharge from hospital, he was recovering at home when Wilson-Tipa became annoyed with him and punched and kicked his stitches.
On December 2, 2022, Peat and Wilson-Tipa were at the woman’s home when Wilson-Tipa, who had been drinking, became angry at Peat and began punching his head, face and chest.
Shortly after the assault, Peat left and went for a walk.
When he returned at 10pm, Wilson-Tipa, furious that he had left, kicked, punched and “rag-dolled” him for a long period across the house.
The woman, who described hearing “cracking sounds that sounded like an eggshell breaking”, said Peat was begging Wilson-Tipa to stop and not to kill him.
Eventually, Peat passed out but the assault continued.
Later, Wilson-Tipa and the woman tried to wake Peat by sitting him up and pouring water over him but he remained unresponsive.
The woman phoned an ambulance and, when paramedics arrived, they pronounced Peat dead.
Tara Shaskey joined NZME in 2022 as a news director and Open Justice reporter. She has been a reporter since 2014 and previously worked at Stuff where she covered crime and justice, arts and entertainment, and Māori issues.
Friends and family are remembering the award-winning reporter.