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As Janny-Lee Brussow cowered with her 3-year-old daughter Haylee-Mae in a tiny upstairs bathroom, intruders were gagging, holding down, and beating her fiance, the child's father, to death. As she heard his desperate pleas for his life, she frantically dialled 111 on a portable phone. "People are in the house attacking my partner," she whispered.
"I was so scared," says the 22-year-old. "I was wimpering - all I could think about was keeping Haylee and me safe. I could hear Jason begging for them to stop."
Downstairs, Jason Boon, 26, was being set on in a horrific home invasion in a normally quiet suburban street in Botany Downs, East Auckland.
The three attackers were apparently oblivious to his young fiancee and daughter hiding upstairs - until one of them started searching the house.
Janny-Lee feared for her life. "I froze. When I saw the bathroom handle being turned, I went 'no please, not us'. I was going to throw something through the bathroom window."
Last week, Guy Nicholas Wilson, 38, of Otara was found guilty of murder and Paul Grace, 26, of East Tamaki and Annette Heta, 29, of Otara, were found guilty of the manslaughter of Boon in November 2006.
All three were also convicted in the High Court of assault with intent to rob in what police now believe was a "standover" to gain cash and drugs, though they acknowledge they may never know the true motivation. Another source has heard a theory "they did it for a [gang] patch".
The horror started shortly after Janny-Lee and Jason put Haylee to bed on Saturday, November 18, 2006.
The couple were relaxing on the couch, studying some old coins they had found in the garage, when there was a knock at the door.
Earlier in the day they had noticed some suspicious characters in the street and Janny-Lee asked Jason whether they should call police, but he said it was fine.
Jason was trying to get out of the drug scene - Janny Lee admits there was P in the house. She says she did not touch drugs.
Jason was not affiliated to any gangs, says Janny-Lee, and may have been considered an easy target, without protection. Jason answered the door. "I didn't hear voices at first, just rustling. Then I could hear voices saying 'we're going to kill you', 'we've got you now' and stuff. I could hear Jason being beaten so I ran up the stairs, grabbed Haylee Mae, and locked myself in the bathroom."
She feared for her life, and kept Haylee Mae close in her arms.
"She was asleep in my arms the whole time. She made a noise once - she said 'What mummy? What's going on?' Then she went back to sleep."
Janny-Lee believes it was Paul Grace who came upstairs and tried to get into the bathroom. "I think he had realised we were inside.
"So much had gone wrong downstairs and he realised Guy went into the house to kill Jason and that was not part of Paul Grace's plan.
"So when he realised there were people upstairs, he didn't go downstairs to tell Guy Wilson."
Police are not so sure Grace was aware Janny-Lee and Haylee were inside. He certainly never admitted it.
Whatever the case, he returned downstairs and the lives of Janny-Lee and her daughter were spared.
As police stormed the house - 12 minutes after her frantic phone call - the three intruders fled the property. They were arrested shortly afterwards.
Janny-Lee knew Jason, a computer technician, was already dead. She could no longer hear his voice. Her mother - alerted by a neighbour - also arrived before the intruders left and cried: "He's gone." Police officers in boiler suits swarmed the scene.
Janny-Lee, who was to marry Jason the following month, was forced to stay in the bathroom another hour.
"They [the intruders] didn't take any drugs or any money. They went into my handbag and took my car keys. There was cash in my handbag, which they left."
She didn't see Jason's body that night. "[Haylee Mae] knows her dad has gone to heaven. We had a tangi up north and Haylee and I slept next to Jason. She got to say goodbye."
Janny-Lee is rebuilding her shattered life now: she is in a new relationship and will start studying next year. She describes Jason as someone who was "cheeky, funny, incredibly generous in all aspects of his life, and the most amazing father".
In court as she testified about the horrific night, Guy Wilson blew kisses at her. His lawyer suggested Boon died partly because of the levels of methamphetamine in his system - the Crown said that was possible, but unlikely. Janny-Lee was accused on the stand of lying about what she heard. She gave evidence behind a screen on the second anniversary of Jason's death. "I couldn't see their faces - I didn't want to see their faces."
According to the police summary of facts, the three convicted killers smoked methamphetamine before driving to Boon's house. "In preparation for the standover, Wilson armed himself with a sheath knife and a roll of duct tape to subdue the deceased."
Wilson also wore a disguise - make-up, a wig and baseball cap, apparently to cover a distinctive facial tattoo, said police.
After knocking on Boon's door, they rushed him. Boon fought for his life in a "protracted struggle" with Wilson and Grace, say police.
Boon suffered neck, throat, and body bruises and a stab wound to his right forearm, He suffocated on the duct tape.
During the trial Janny Lee feared retaliation and had nightmares. The trio will be sentenced on February 5, two days before Janny-Lee's 23rd birthday.
"I hope one day I will possibly be able to forgive them. I have to, so I can get on with my life.
"The sad thing is I can't change anything. I also want Haylee to be able to forgive too. We just want them to come out of jail and not be broken but to be different people to who they were.
"We are celebrating an ending, not celebrating the fact that they will be going to jail. Some of them have children so I feel sorry for them."
