Chilling question father asked son after boy woke up next to grave

WARNING: GRAPHIC CONTENT 

A 10-year-old boy who woke up next to a grave dug by his dad was told to choose whether he or his mum should be buried, a court has heard.

A 58-year-old man faced faced New Plymouth District Court, New Zealand, last week after subjecting his ex-partner and their son to more than a decade of abuse.

The man, from Taranaki on the western side of the North Island, cannot legally be named to protect the identity of his now 14-year-old son.

He pleaded guilty to four charges related to his former partner, including wounding with intent to cause grievous bodily harm, assault with a weapon, injuring with intent to injure and a representative charge of threatening to kill.

In relation to the boy, he pleaded guilty to intent to cause grievous bodily harm and injuring with intent to injure.

The court heard testimony from the woman, which detailed 14 years of abuse, including broken bones, bruises and black eyes.

Judge Robert Spear read aloud to the court the ‘chilling’ details of the domestic violence endured by the woman and the boy.

Judge Spear recounted an incident in 2019 when the boy, who was feeling unwell, went to bed but woke up the following morning laying on the grass next to a ‘freshly dug hole in the ground’. 

‘The hole was about six feet long and about six feet deep. He had dirt scattered on him,’ Judge Spear said, the NZ Herald reported. 

‘You [the man] were standing over him with a cricket bat. You told him the grave was for him or his mother, and for that 10-year-old boy to choose who was to end up in it.’

When the boy failed to respond, his father then kicked his body, punched his face and hit him with a cricket bat.  

The court also heard the man threatened to kill his partner on several occasions, including by cutting her up and burying her.    

One domestic violence attack happened at a property in Hāwera, South Taranaki, after the man asked the woman to look after their son while he went to work. 

However, when she arrived the man punched and kicked her before dragging her along the ground. 

He forced his ex-partner to take her jersey off and then strangled her by putting his hands around her neck. 

The man then grabbed a chain and wrapped it around her neck, cutting off her breathing once again. 

Judge Spears said the court dealt with domestic violence almost every day however, he claimed this was was among one of the worst he had ever seen.  

An extensive pre-sentence report had been provided to the court prior to the man’s sentencing.

The report stated the man had not expressed remorse or shown accountability for his actions and also took issue with aspects of the summary of facts. 

The man had told the report writer that he had ‘never touched a hair on my son’ and claimed he only pleaded guilty to spare his son the pressure of appearing in court.

The report added the man admitted he was ‘totally out of control’ and was addicted to methamphetamine, often going days without sleep, during the years of abuse.  

Judge Spears told the man he was in denial and rejected the man’s claims that he did not hurt his son. 

However, he did find the man to be remorseful after having spent time sober and in prison. 

Another report added the man grew up surrounded by heavy drinking and that his own abuse of alcohol and cannabis began when he was 13 years old – which later progressed to methamphetamines in his 20s. 

Judge Spears started with 17 years’ imprisonment and then added an additional year for the man’s previous family violence-related convictions. 

He then gave credit for the man’s guilty pleas, remorse, background factors and time served.  

The man was sentenced to 12 years and seven months, with a minimum period of six years behind bars. 

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