William Capper appeared in the Rotorua High Court on Thursday, where he was sentenced to nearly seven years behind bars. Photo / Ethan Griffiths
William Capper appeared in the Rotorua High Court on Thursday, where he was sentenced to nearly seven years behind bars. Photo / Ethan Griffiths
A man who went at his flatmate with a hammer and a kitchen knife, inflicting five wounds, severing an artery and killing him in the process, has been sentenced to nearly seven years behind bars.
William James Henare Capper, 34, appeared before Justice Graham Lang for sentencing in the High Court at Rotorua this morning.
In March he pled guilty to a charge of manslaughter - three days before he was set to face trial for the murder of his flatmate George Cross.
According to the summary of facts, on April 1 last year Capper was at his Taupō address with three associates when a row broke out between Capper’s friend Hamish Vickers and eventual victim George Cross around 11pm.
The pair grappled on the floor of the house, before Vickers struck Cross with a bar stool.
Capper then became involved, picking up a hammer and “endeavouring” to strike Cross. It is not known if the blows connected.
He then grabbed a kitchen knife, being restrained by another associate who yelled at him to drop it.
Capper chose to ignore the advice, lunging at Cross and stabbing him four times in the right thigh and again on the right leg. He yelled “that’s what you get” as the knife entered his leg.
Capper later fetched towels to apply pressure to Cross’ wounds, but the stabbings had severed an artery, causing Cross to die of blood loss.
A lifetime of alcohol and substance abuse
In sentencing Capper, Justice Lang received two pre-sentence reports detailing his background. That detail included a lack of a father figure during childhood, solvent, cannabis and alcohol abuse, and a confusing family dynamic in which he was adopted by his aunt.
The court also heard Capper was active in the New Zealand Defence Force for two years after joining at 18, where he was involved in multiple “fights and disagreements” with others, Justice Lang said.
He was dishonourably discharged and spent time in a military prison.
In 2020, he was convicted after an assault on a person in a family relationship, for which he spent further time in prison. This offending was fuelled by alcohol.
The public gallery held a large group of Cross' family, who gathered to see his killer sentenced. Photo / Andrew Warner
Crown prosecutor Amanda Gordon told Justice Lang an appropriate starting point was somewhere between nine and 10 years, while Capper’s lawyer Ron Mansfield KC suggested seven years.
“He realises the harmful impact of alcohol, and is clearly remorseful,” Mansfield said.
Justice Lang found a middle ground, setting the starting point at eight years and six months.
Capper received a one-year, or 12 per cent discount for his guilty plea, as well as a further 10 months for his “predisposition to alcohol addiction” due to factors beyond his control.
Justice Lang said Capper grew up in an environment where alcohol was abused and there was evidence his mother had consumed “considerable amounts of alcohol” before his birth.
“Your abuse of alcohol has had a negative impact on your ability to form relationships,” Justice Lang said.
Capper sat silently in the dock with his head bowed for most of the hearing, remaining calm as he stood to be sentenced, with Justice Lang ordering he spend the next six years and eight months in prison.
Justice Lang declined to institute a minimum period of imprisonment, saying that was not required in this case.
As he left the dock, some of Cross’ family members yelled abuse at Capper. Others refused to stand as Justice Lang retired, leading to a firm verbal order from court security officers.
Earlier, Justice Lang expressed his sympathy to Cross’ family.
“Nothing this court can do will ever bring your loved one back. The sympathy of the court is absolutely with you.”
