R v Tahitahi - [2024] NZHC 2284

SUPPRESSION ORDERS EXIST IN RELATION TO ASPECTS OF THIS JUDGMENT: SEE FOOTNOTE 21.

IN THE HIGH COURT OF NEW ZEALAND AUCKLAND REGISTRY

I TE KŌTI MATUA O AOTEAROA TĀMAKI MAKAURAU ROHE

CRI-2022-092-10487

[2024] NZHC 2284

THE KING

v

THOMAS TAHITAHI

Hearing: 14 August 2024

Appearances:

A Devathasan and S Arnerich for Crown K Holden for Defendant

Judgment:

14 August 2024

SENTENCING NOTES OF MOORE J

[For publication]

Solicitors:
Kayes Fletcher Walker, Auckland

R v TAHITAHI [2024] NZHC 2284 [14 August 2024]

[1] Mr Tahitahi, at the age of 42 you appear for sentence having pleaded guilty to the murder of Daniel Eliu. My task this morning is to decide what sentence you should receive for what you did.

[2] However, before I go any further, I wish to acknowledge Mr Eliu’s whānau and friends who are here today and to welcome them to the High Court.

The offending

[3] It is first necessary for me to set out the facts of your offending. Obviously, these are well known to you. You have pleaded guilty to murdering Daniel Eliu and you have accepted the summary of facts which sets out what happened that day.1 However, because sentencing is quintessentially a public function which must be conducted in open Court, it is necessary for me, in this public forum, to lay them out.

[4] The summary of facts records that you are a patched member of the Head Hunters. Mr Eliu was President of the Notorious Chapter of the Mongrel Mob.

[5] On 23 November 2022, you were released on parole from prison. I note from your criminal history this appears to have been for a sentence of more than six years for aggravated robbery using a firearm.

[6] Less than a month later, on the morning of Saturday 17 December 2022, you shot Mr Eliu to death. The background to that killing reflects just how cold blooded it was in fact. Let me explain why.

[7] On that Saturday, the Grace Foundation was holding its regular church service at the Puhinui Seventh Day Adventist Church, on Puhinui Road. It was the last service of the year. Because of this, a Christmas lunch had been arranged for both Grace Foundation members and other churchgoers.

1 R v Tahitahi HC Auckland CRI-2022-092-10487, 10 April 2024 (Minute of Venning J). In his minute, the Judge refers to “the agreed summary of facts dated 9 April 2024”, which are the summary of facts on which Mr Tahitahi appears for sentence.

[8] About 200 people, including children, were present. It was meant to be a day of fun and celebration. Amongst other events, Mr Eliu was to graduate from one of the Grace Foundation’s programmes that day.

[9] At 8:46am, you drove from your home in Massey to the Point England area. There you picked up another person. To this day that person’s identity is unknown.

[10] A little more than half an hour later, you and this unknown person left Point England and drove to…

Grounds of appeal

[14] The appellant contends that the primary judge erred in finding that the respondent had discharged the onus of establishing the matters required under the relevant provision.

[15] It was submitted that his Honour failed to give adequate weight to the evidence of the second witness, and that the findings of fact were not reasonably open on the material before the Court.

[16] The respondent, for its part, submits that no error is disclosed, and that the conclusions reached were well within the range of outcomes available to the primary judge.

Consideration

[17] It is convenient to deal first with the question of construction, as the resolution of that issue informs the remaining grounds advanced by the appellant.

[18] For the reasons that follow, we are of the view that the appeal should be allowed in part and the matter remitted for further determination.

Continue reading R v Tahitahi

Details

AGLC: R v Tahitahi [2024] NZHC 2284
Case: [2024] NZHC 2284
Decision Date: 14 August 2024

CaseChat Overview and Summary

Thomas Tahitahi appeared before the High Court of New Zealand in Auckland for sentencing after pleading guilty to the murder of Daniel Eliu. The court, presided over by Justice Moore, outlined the facts of the case, which involved Tahitahi, a member of the Head Hunters gang, murdering Eliu, President of the Notorious Chapter of the Mongrel Mob, during a Christmas event at the Puhinui Seventh Day Adventist Church. Tahitahi meticulously planned the murder, enlisting an associate, scoping out the area, concealing his firearm, and using a getaway vehicle, shooting Eliu six times from behind. The court acknowledged the victim's family, who presented victim impact statements expressing their grief and loss. The court considered the aggravating factors of the murder, including its calculated nature and high degree of brutality, and determined that these warranted a minimum period of imprisonment (MPI) of at least 17 years under Section 104 of the Sentencing Act. The court set a starting point MPI of 17 years, adjusted for Tahitahi's criminal history and parole status, and his guilty plea and background, resulting in a final MPI of 17 years. The sentence of life imprisonment with a minimum period of 17 years was deemed appropriate to reflect the seriousness and callousness of the crime.

The final orders of the court were that Thomas Tahitahi be sentenced to life imprisonment with a minimum period of imprisonment of 17 years for the murder of Daniel Eliu.

Orders