Shailer v R

The appeals against sentence were brought by Tania Shailer and David Haerewa, who were convicted of the manslaughter and ill treatment of a three year old child, Moko Rangitoheriri. The Court of Appeal dismissed the appeals. The appellants had been sentenced to 17 years imprisonment, with a minimum period of nine years. The appeal concerned whether the starting point of the sentence should have been life imprisonment and whether the discounts from that starting point were adequate. The Court found that the starting point of life imprisonment was correct because this was one of the most serious cases of child manslaughter. The appellants had assaulted Moko continuously over a period of six weeks and created a culture of violence against him. The Court found that Tania Shailer's mental health issues did not materially diminish her culpability and that David Haerewa's culpability was no less than Ms Shailer's. The Court found that the discounts from the starting point of life imprisonment were adequate. The minimum period of imprisonment was also not excessive.