Man committed on rape charge

Press, 20 November 1981, Page 21

Man committed on rape charge

PAAuckland A man has been committed to the High Court for trial on charges of rape and attempted murder after a depositions hearing in the District Court at Henderson. Christopher Donnally Hankins, aged 21, of Henderson, an amusement parlour manager, pleaded not guilty to the charges when he appeared before Mr R. W. Gash and Mr S. I. Peacock, Justices of the Peace. He was remanded in custody at Oakley Hospital. The complainant, whose name was suppressed, gave evidence that on October 1 the accused came to her house and had a cup of coffee. He was known to her as he was the boyfriend of a neighbour. She said Hankins was in a bad mood because he had had an argument with his girlfriend. He offered to help her stick labels on some envelopes, which she had to have completed by the next

day. About 2 a.m. the next morning they stopped sticking on the labels. The complainant said she was escorting Hankins to the back door when he put his arm round her neck and she felt “a hot burning sensation” in her back. “I thought he had stabbed me,” she said. “I pulled away but he had me by the throat. I wanted to get the knife out of my back because I did not want to fall on it. I felt as if I was going unconscious,” she said. “I finally pulled the knife out of my back and pushed it under the fridge so that he could not get it again.” The complainant said she lost consciousness after that and when she came to some of her clothes had been removed. She was wearing only her singlet and socks and there was a dog chain and lead round her neck. She made her way to another neighbour’s house to ask for help. She was taken

to hospital by ambulance. In evidence read to the Court, Donna Marie Hankins, sister of the accused, said that about 2.55 a.m. on October 2 her brother came to her house in a distressed state. He told, her he thought he had killed someone. He had not wanted to go to the police and had wanted to kill himself, she said. Detective J. P. Flanagan, in written evidence, said that he spoke to Hankins about the incident. Hankins told him the complainant had criticised the way his girlfriend brought up her children. He had got "pretty hot" about that. Hankins had said that he only remembered seeing the complainant lying in a pool of blood with her tongue hanging out. Witness had told Hankins that the complainant had said she was raped, stabbed, and almost strangled. “He said, ‘lf I did that I deserve to be put away’,” said Detective Flanagan.