Toddler's killer appeals against 17-year sentence

A man who killed a Palmerston North toddler with a single punch to the stomach did not deserve to be sent to jail for a minimum of 17 years, his lawyer told the Court of Appeal yesterday.

Demis Peter Paul, then 25, was convicted last year of murdering 14-month-old Mereana Clement-Matete, the daughter of his partner Kim Matete, in December 2004, three months after he was released from prison on home detention.

Up until five days before his trial, Paul tried to blame Mereana's 2-year-old cousin Caleb for the injuries, saying Caleb had jumped up and down on her.

Paul's lawyer Glenn Mason told the Court of Appeal that the sentence was too harsh when compared with other killers' sentences and a starting point of 13 years would have been more appropriate.

Steven Roger Williams, also given 17 years for killing his stepdaughter Coral Burrows, was a case in point, Mr Mason said.

Williams first hit the Featherston schoolgirl repeatedly then drove her to a remote area of South Wairarapa and finished her off with a piece of wood.

He said there were "powerful" mitigating factors not taken into account by Paul's sentencing judge: Paul had only hit the toddler once, had had an "appalling upbringing" himself, and had accepted responsibility for the unlawful killing, although not the murder.

"It was a reckless killing and not an intentional one," Mr Mason said.

For the Crown, Fiona Guy Kidd said the Sentencing Act 2002 aimed to give stern sentences to those who murdered the most vulnerable.

Paul had lied in an attempt to blame Mereana's young cousin and forced the young boy's mother to face cross-examination on his behaviour at depositions.

Although it was only one punch, Paul had conceded he "put everything" into it, she said.

At the time of the murder, Paul was on home detention in Palmerston North, serving the end of his 27-month sentence for burglary, theft and drug offending.

Justices William Young, Paul Heath and John Wild reserved their decision.

- NZPA