Life sentence for murder

Press, 9 July 1983, Page 4

Life sentence for murder

PA Wellington A labourer who admitted to the police that he had punched his de facto wife and hit her head on a bath when she told him that she had been out with another man, has been sentenced to life imprisonment for her murder.

A jury took more than seven hours to reach its verdict against David Rewi Whatuira, aged 39. He had pleaded not guilty to a charge of the murder of Rebecca Biddle at Wellington on January 22.

The Court had heard that Whatuira told the police he had gone “berserk” when she had accused him of having an affair and had then admitted going out with two other men.

Summing up, Mr Justice Ongley said the Crown case was 'that there was an assault, or a series of assaults, on Miss Biddle and that it was Whatuira who assaulted her, and that he meant to cause her death; or, if it was not proved he intended to cause her death, he was guilty of murder because he meant to cause bodily injury likely to cause death and he was reckless whether death ensued or not.

His Honour said that if the Crown had proved that Whatuira killed Miss Biddle by an unlawful act or acts but had not satisfied the jury beyond reasonable doubt that he was in one or other of those states of mind required to prove a charge of murder, the proper verdict would be one of manslaughter.