Tauranga teen given supervision for knife attack on girl at Bayfair mall

A teen who was followed into a shopping mall before being stabbed several times says she still remembers the attacker – a girl she knew – “laughing and running away” after members of the public came to her rescue.

The victim, who has statutory name suppression, says the flashbacks of that day at Mount Maunganui’s Bayfair Shopping Centre and the actions of the 16-year-old make her feel angry.

“I don’t understand how you could stab me, and then walk away laughing,” she said in a victim impact statement.

“A fight is one thing, but wanting to take it to the level with a knife is extreme.”

Police at the scene of the stabbing in May, after which a 16-year-old was charged with wounding with intent to cause grievous bodily harm.

The teen, who was charged with wounding with intent to cause grievous bodily harm, appeared in the Youth Court on Monday where she was sentenced.

‘This whole thing started over small disagreements’

It’s understood the two girls knew each other and there had been some ongoing hostility, with the victim’s mother saying the stabbing stemmed from ongoing, but minor, disputes between the pair.

“Sadly I believe this whole thing started over small disagreements ... ” the mother said.

In May 2024, the teen saw the victim arrive at Bayfair and followed her at a distance around the mall. She then followed her into a shop, pulled out a knife, and began stabbing her.

She didn’t stop until members of the public pulled her off and gained control of the knife.

The girl suffered “four deep lacerations” in her abdomen and significant bleeding.

The teen ran away and hid in a car parked on the upper carpark of the shopping centre.

The victim said in a statement read out in court that after the stabbing, she had been left “wondering what kind of person does that”, and had daily flashbacks, needed medication to help her sleep, and didn’t feel comfortable being alone.

She would also not be returning to Bayfair any time soon, as she knew it would trigger post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) symptoms.

It had taken three days, following the attack, for her to be able to breathe without “intense pain”.

The scars on her body would always remind her of the attack.

Terrified mum: ‘Worst feeling I’ve felt’

The girl’s mother said in her statement that “racing” to Bayfair, fearing her daughter was going to die or was already dead, “was the worst feeling I’ve felt in my entire life”.

She arrived as her daughter was being put in the ambulance but had to follow along behind in her car, as there wasn’t space in the ambulance because of the number of paramedics needed.

“Not knowing what was happening in there was torture. Indescribable.”

Her daughter had spent three days in intensive care.

The pressures on the wider family were ongoing, as she struggled to meet her recovering daughter’s needs, as well as the needs of her other children.

The solo mother no longer felt safe going about her daily life and wanted to have all her children sleep in the same room as her so she could ensure their safety.

She was, “unapologetically angry”, sad and overwhelmed.

The girl’s grandmother also provided a statement to the court in which she said she struggled to sleep at night.

She said her granddaughter’s description of the smile on her attacker’s face would “haunt me forever”. Her granddaughter shouldn’t have had to tell her such “horrific details”.

“She should be telling me about her day at school, with her friends and about the [sports] game she just won.”

The attack had stolen the girl’s ability to function as a normal high school student, the grandmother said.

The teen appeared in the Youth Court, held in Tauranga, to be sentenced.

‘You planned it, you thought about it, you brought a weapon’

Judge Christina Cook addressed the teen defendant and acknowledged her acceptance of the charge of wounding with intent to cause grievous bodily harm.

The judge referred to submissions from the Crown, which argued the appropriate sentence was further supervision in a residential setting.

The teen had been in a residence for the past six months, having entered a non-denial to the charge ahead of sentencing.

The Crown asked for further residential supervision because of the seriousness of the violence, the impact it had on the victim and her family, and the risk of further violence by the teen.

Her actions had been planned and premeditated and had involved continuous stabbing of the girl that stopped only when members of the public intervened.

The judge summarised this by stating: “You planned it, you thought about it, you brought a weapon.”

A report provided to the court, and referred to by the Crown, indicated the teen had little empathy for the victim and still harboured ill-feeling toward her.

But the teen’s lawyer, Rebekah Webby, said since that report was completed, her client had changed her attitude and turned a corner.

She now had real insight and had turned up to the last family group conference with flowers for the victim and a letter of apology.

Webby took issue with the Crown’s position on supervision in residence, as that would need to be done in a location , away from the teen’s family, who lived in the Bay of Plenty and Waikato regions.

Webby and Oranga Tamariki both advocated for a plan that comprised of supervision with activities order – this would include a curfew and therapeutic, rehabilitative, and education programmes.

‘Lucky the injuries were not more serious’

The judge agreed with the Crown that it was serious and premeditated offending.

“I think it was really just lucky that the injuries that occurred were not more serious,” Judge Cook said.

However, she also took into account the teen’s history and personal circumstances and also accepted the teen’s attitude had changed since the offending.

Judge Cook acknowledged the teen’s actions had affected not on the victim’s family but also the teen’s family, causing grief and trauma.

“But the fact that they are here today in support of you is also a factor that I take into consideration, and you are lucky to have that support,” the judge said.

The family had provided an accommodation option, with a whānau member, outside of Tauranga.

The judge agreed to impose the supervision with activities order, to be served at the whānau member’s house, as going to a youth justice residence would mean the teen would be “starting again”.

The judge held the view that the Oranga Tamariki plan had appropriate oversight and interventions to address the issues highlighted in the psychologist’s report.

The order put limits on the teen’s movements, which included a curfew, and that she could go to Tauranga and Mount Maunganui only when accompanied by her designated caregiver. She was not to enter Bayfair under any circumstances.

The teen will return to court in May next year to have a further supervision order imposed, and an order for 100 hours’ community work.

This story covers youth court proceedings that are subject to automatic statutory suppressions of the identities of the young people involved.

Hannah Bartlett is a Tauranga-based Open Justice reporter at NZME. She previously covered court and local government for the Nelson Mail, and before that was a radio reporter at Newstalk ZB.