R v Boulter
[2013] NZHC 2793
•25 October 2013
IN THE HIGH COURT OF NEW ZEALAND NELSON REGISTRY
CRI 2012-006-785 [2013] NZHC 2793
THE QUEEN
v
WARREN LESLIE BOULTER
Hearing: 25 October 2013
Counsel: M A O'Donoghue and J M Webber for Crown
M Hardy-Jones for Accused
Sentence: 25 October 2013
SENTENCE OF RONALD YOUNG J
[1] Mr Boulter you are now for sentence having been found guilty by a jury of murder. A brief summary of the facts is as follows.
[2] You and Ms Wilkinson-Foley had been in a relationship. You had obtained further employment in Blenheim and you would return from time to time to the Nelson area where she lived. Eventually she decided that she no longer wanted to continue the relationship with you. She told you this on several occasions and then finally took some clothing and other household items over to you in Blenheim to make it clear to you the relationship was at an end.
[3] But you did not accept the relationship was over. You sent her texts and contacted her regularly to try and convince her to continue the relationship. But it is
clear from her perspective the relationship was at an end and she wanted it finished.
R v BOULTER [2013] NZHC 2793 [25 October 2013]
[4] You still had some clothing at her house and she arranged for you to come and pick it up on the day of the murder. When you arrived there shortly afterwards you were physically violent towards her punching her or striking her in some way in the face. You knocked her to the ground. You then went to the kitchen and chose one knife and rejected it. You chose another knife. You returned with that knife to the kitchen where Ms Wilkinson-Foley was lying on the ground. You stabbed her repeatedly and violently in the neck. You caused her severe injuries. She bled to death.
[5] As she must have lay dying, you showered, changed your clothes and took the clothing that no doubt had her blood on it and left the house. You would have known that she would have slowly bleeding to death. You showed no interest in her and then you tried to disguise the killing and your involvement. But eventually you were arrested and stood trial. You denied that you were the killer but the evidence overwhelmingly said that you were.
[6] I accept it is unlikely that you went to the house intending to kill Ms Wilkinson-Foley. You were present at the house by her invitation. But after you assaulted her it is clear to me that you were determined to kill her. The way in which the knife was used, stabbing her in the neck in a violent way illustrated the ferocity of your attack. This was a callous brutal killing of a woman you shortly before had a relationship with and you claimed to have loved.
[7] After the killing to add to the humiliation of the events, you stole jewellery belonging to the complainant which you then sent to family members who it seemed to me were horrified by the gesture.
[8] I have read the presentence report. You apparently refused to participate in the interview with the probation officer. And so the probation officer had to rely mostly on service files. As the report writer noted you made no sign of any remorse or any willingness to make amend, you simply referred any enquiry about your involvement to your lawyer. This again emphasised the cold blooded killing of this woman.
[9] As the report notes you have a history of violent reactions when a relationship ends and the report understandably assessed you at being high risk of reoffending.
[10] The Crown in their submissions say that a starting point for a minimum period of imprisonment in addition to the life imprisonment should be in the range of
12 to 13 years. They accept this case does not come within those set out in s 104 of the Sentencing Act 2002.
[11] As to the relevant factors they point to the violence of the attack on a vulnerable part of the victim, a conscious decision to use the knife beforehand, the stabbing of the victim when she was already defenceless and on the kitchen floor and the clear intention to kill her given the location of the stab wounds. While they accept you may not have been in her house unlawfully the killing took place in her own home. And finally they mention the fact that the victim was found by her own parents lying in a pool of blood.
[12] The Crown also mention your previous violence to women.
[13] I have read and taken into account the submission made by your counsel. He stresses there was no premeditation and that you did not decide to kill the deceased until after you had arrived at the house that day. He says that this is not a case where s 104 of the Sentencing Act 2002 applies.
[14] It is mentioned that throughout your life you have battled alcohol dependency and now at 56 years of age face a long prison term. He accepts a start sentence in the range of 11 to 13 years is an appropriate minimum period.
[15] I acknowledge the victim impact and the reports that I have read today. I acknowledge the courage it took to write these reports and for those who did read them to read them out today. They underline the heart wrenching discovery by the deceased’s parents of their daughter lying, as they said, bruised and bloodied on the kitchen floor. Mr and Mrs Wilkinson said this:
Our lives have been shattered, our hearts are empty, part of us have gone with her. There will always be a huge hole in our lives that nothing or no one can fill.
[16] In addition there are the victim impact statements from the deceased’s two sisters that were read this morning. They stress the deep loss and permanent effect that your killing of their sister will have on them. This is a family that has been shaken to its core by your murder. I want to read again the words of Ms Milligan:
You have destroyed our family and changed our lives forever and yet you show no emotion and even more distressing no remorse for the evil crime that you have committed.
[17] I acknowledge again their dignity and their loss.
[18] There can be no doubt Mr Boulter that you are a great danger to women that you have a relationship with. You seem to think that they should bend to your will and desire no matter what. Here, Ms Wilkinson-Foley made it clear that she had decided she no longer wished to have a relationship with you. You decided she could not be permitted to make that decision. You refused to accept it. You were aggressive and threatening towards her and I am sure that shortly after you arrived at that house you began beating her.
[19] This was, as I have said, a vicious killing with at least some element of premeditation in that you made a deliberate decision to get a knife and once you had the knife you were determined to kill her. You showed callousness after the killing. You left her to bleed to death while you showered, changed and left. You would have known that a neighbour or a friend or a member of the family would likely have to find her having bled to death on her own kitchen floor.
[20] The main sentence today for you is life imprisonment. As well I have to set a minimum period which you should serve and I stress a minimum. I think the proper starting point for that is 12 and a half years’ imprisonment. There is clear justification for an uplift for your past convictions. The propensity evidence called at trial illustrated that on a previous occasion when a woman had decided she no longer wished to have a relationship with you that you acted violently towards her and threatened to kill her. And you were imprisoned then.
[21] I repeat. You are a clear and obvious danger to women. And so I uplift the start sentence of 12 and a half years by 12 months to reflect your past offending.
[22] You are, therefore, sentenced to life imprisonment which is, as I have said, the main sentence together with a minimum period of imprisonment of 13 and a half years. No doubt the Parole Board many years into the future will wish to think very carefully about whether you any longer pose a serious risk to women before they consider releasing you from prison.
[23] Stand down.
Ronald Young J
Solicitors:
O’Donoghue Webber, Barristers & Solicitors, Nelson
Hardy-Jones Clark, Barristers & Solicitors, Blenheim
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