In the High Court at Napier on Friday, the second attacker, Keontay Wayne Chadwick, 23, pleaded guilty to manslaughter.
The evidence connecting Chadwick to the attack included Strickland’s blood, which was found on his shoes, clothing and an electronic ankle bracelet he was wearing.
Todd was also brought back before Justice Dale La Hood in the High Court on Friday, and pleaded guilty to injuring the female victim with intent to do grievous bodily harm during the attack late on October 13, 2022.
Both men were remanded in custody for sentencing on April 22.
A Crown summary of facts said Strickland, 29, suffered multiple blunt-force head injuries and had a large amount of blood at the back of his mouth and in his airways.
This meant he was unable to breathe and died from suffocation and aspiration of blood.
Victim was home from France
Chadwick, of Flaxmere, has family connections to the Mongrel Mob, according to the summary.
Todd lived in Bridge Pa, south of Hastings, and was a prospect for the Mob’s Central Hawke’s Bay chapter.
Strickland was living in Flaxmere after returning recently from France, and was a teacher at a local school.
He, the 24-year-old female victim and some friends were walking on Flaxmere Ave on the way home after a night out, celebrating the birthday of Strickland’s sister. Both Strickland and the woman were intoxicated.
They were approached by Chadwick and got into an altercation with him, during which the woman shoved Chadwick in the chest before Strickland calmed her down.
The group split up and Chadwick again approached Strickland and the woman near the corner of Ramsay Cres and Bangor St. By this time, Todd was with him.
Todd began striking Strickland, knocking him to the ground. Todd then stomped on him multiple times, targeting his head and neck while Chadwick watched.
Towards the end of the attack, Chadwick joined in.
“It is not known how many blows each defendant delivered to Mr Strickland; however, the majority of the blows came from Mr Todd,” the Crown summary said.
The attack went on for “a number of minutes” while Strickland lay on the ground, eventually becoming unconscious, at which point Todd approached some people nearby who had seen what was happening.
He asked one of them for a knife so he could “finish it”.
Woman pleaded for attack to stop
The woman victim tried to intervene, pleading with the two to stop attacking Strickland. She bent down on one knee over Strickland.
Todd then punched her repeatedly, causing her to fall to the ground.
As she was lying prone, Todd stomped on her face about five times, saying “You want some of this”, the summary said.
After the woman was beaten unconscious, Todd turned towards the bystanders, who fled.
As they left the area, Todd was heard saying “Seig f..... heil”, a Mongrel Mob slogan.
A member of the public found the injured pair and went to their aid as the woman regained consciousness.
She was badly injured around the face. Strickland was already dead.
The summary of facts said that, as well as the head injuries and the blood that suffocated him, he had probably suffered a concussion, meaning he would have been unable to protect his airways.
The next day, Chadwick visited his probation officer and told him he had been in a fight in which a man had “got smashed over”.
He told the officer it was “really scary” and he had joined in to help his associate because “the bro was about to lose”.
Cherished school staff member
Strickland has been described as a well-respected and cherished support staff member of his old primary, Irongate School.
Irongate kaiako (teacher) Dess Williams said earlier that Strickland would connect with the children by drawing for them.
“He could see if someone was sad and he’d go up to them and start drawing. That was his thing. He would sit there, draw and not say anything and the kids were able to open up to him.
“They felt they could talk to him any time.”
At the time he died, Strickland was planning to return to France to play rugby.
Ric Stevens spent many years working for the former New Zealand Press Association news agency, including as a political reporter at Parliament, before holding senior positions at various daily newspapers. He joined NZME’s Open Justice team in 2022 and is based in Hawke’s Bay. His writing in the crime and justice sphere is informed by four years of front-line experience as a probation officer.
