R v Frank

IN THE HIGH COURT OF NEW ZEALAND ROTORUA REGISTRY

I TE KŌTI MATUA O AOTEAROA

TE ROTORUA-NUI-Ā-KAHU ROHE

CRI-2017-069-000422 [2017] NZHC 2965

THE QUEEN

v

SIMON HARVEY FRANK

Hearing:	1 December 2017
Appearances:	A Gordon for Crown T Sutcliffe for Prisoner (via AVL)
Judgment:	1 December 2017

ORAL JUDGMENT OF JAGOSE J

Solicitors/Counsel:

A Gordon, Gordon Pilditch, Rotorua

T Sutcliffe, Barrister, Hamilton

R v FRANK NO 2 [2017] NZHC 2965 [1 December 2017]

[1]      Mr Frank, in my judgment of 24 October 2017, I found you not guilty on account of insanity on one charge of murder.1

[2]      I set out the factual background in my judgment:

[4]       Mr Frank was diagnosed with bi-polar disorder in 1987 and has been taking medication for this illness since that time.

[5]       On Friday 14 April 2017, Mr Frank and the victim travelled to Taupo

to stay at a bach owned by one of Mrs Frank’s colleagues.

[6]       Mrs Frank told her colleague she and Mr Frank needed a weekend away because their relationship was sometimes difficult, and Mr Frank could be possessive. She said Mr Frank had recently been agitated as he was starting a new job and adjusting his medication.

[7]       At  around  8:00  am  on  Saturday,  15  April  2017,  Mr  Frank approached the victim while she was sitting in bed. He was carrying a large carving knife. Mr Frank stabbed Mrs Frank twice in the torso, once in her chest and once near her right underarm. One stab wound was 13 cm deep. The other was 15 cm deep. The stab wounds punctured both the victim’s lungs and caused massive internal bleeding.

[8]       At around 8:25 am, Mr Frank called emergency services and told the ambulance operator he had just stabbed his wife. Police soon arrived at the bach. Mrs Frank was found sitting on a couch in the living room, where she was in pain and having difficulty breathing. As a police officer attempted to staunch the bleeding, Mrs Frank said “he did it”.

[9]       Mrs Frank passed away while being airlifted from Taupo to Waikato

Hospital. The post-mortem concluded her injuries were unsurvivable.

[10]      Mr  Frank  is  currently  being  held  at  the  Puna  Maatai2   Forensic

Inpatient Unit at Waikato Hospital, Hamilton.

[3]      I had psychiatric reports by Dr Shailesh Kumar and Dr Rees Tapsell available to me when I issued my judgment. Both authors discussed only in general terms your continued remand to Puna Maatai:

[48]     Both Dr Kumar and Dr Tapsell advocate for Mr Frank to continue receiving treatment at Puna Maatai. Dr Tapsell says Mr Frank is early in the course of his treatment. Further, despite the improvement in Mr Frank’s mental state, Dr Tapsell cautions Mr Frank’s mood “is likely to deteriorate” (to the point at which he may be at “significant risk of self-harm”) once he realises  the  “enormity  of  what  he  has  done”.  Dr  Tapsell  recommends Mr Frank be remanded to Puna Maatai.

1      R v Frank [2017] NZHC 2587.

2      I…