WARNING: DISTURBING CONTENT 

A jealous South Auckland husband has admitted using a fish-filleting knife to cut the throat of a child he raised as his own before learning she was conceived as the result of an extramarital affair.  

The 53-year-old Rosehill resident, who until now has been on bail, brought a backpack and a large bottle of water with him into the High Court at Auckland today as he pleaded guilty to attempted murder and kidnapping.  

Justice Timothy Brewer ordered him remanded in custody until sentencing next month. He continues to have interim name suppression.  

According to court documents, the man’s 20-year marriage had been on the rocks for a couple of years already when he decided to attack the child after a night of drinking in December 2022. The girl had made him food about midnight before falling asleep in her room. About 3am, the defendant went to the bedroom, nudged her awake and motioned for her to follow him. 

“[The child] got out of bed and did as she was told, having no understanding of what was to follow,” according to the summary of facts. 

Smelling of alcohol, he led the child to a garage and told her to sit in a chair as he stood in front of her. 

“The defendant asked [the young girl] if she knew that he was not her real father,” court documents state. “[The child] had not heard of this previously. The defendant told her that another man was her real father.” 

The child attempted to leave, but the defendant ordered her to stay and she complied. 

“Without speaking further, the defendant walked behind [the girl] and stood behind her while she was sitting on the seat facing away from him. 

“He grabbed [the girl] by the hair and pulled her hair backwards, raising her chin and exposing her throat and neck. The defendant then used the knife to slit [her throat].” 

The knife, with a 15cm blade, caused extensive damage - cutting through muscle, exposing her windpipe and cutting her jugular vein. 

“The injury began bleeding heavily,” the court documents state. “However, fortunately, the laceration narrowly missed the carotid artery.” 

As the child fell to the floor and began screaming, the defendant tried to muffle her screams by “aggressively” pushing her head down and shoving his fingers in her mouth. Others in the house, however, awoke and began to intervene. One adult son pulled him away from the child. 

“I’m going to end her life also,” the defendant said as he then walked towards his sleeping wife with the knife still in hand. 

Another adult son grabbed the defendant and didn’t let go until he was able to take the knife from his father, who then fled the house. Still wearing blood-stained clothes and with a rope wrapped around his neck, the defendant was later arrested without incident in Thames, Coromandel.  

The child survived after emergency surgery at Middlemore Hospital. 

No family members were in court today as he entered the guilty pleas. The defendant, who moved to New Zealand from Fiji about 2005, was accompanied only by an interpreter. 

In addition to the throat-cutting incident, the defendant admitted to having kidnapped his wife roughly a week earlier. 

“Over the last two years, the relationship between the defendant and [his wife] deteriorated,” court documents explained. “Some contributing facts included an incident where the defendant caught [her] having another affair, as well as financial pressures. The arguments became frequent, and [the victim] would leave to stay with other family on occasions.” 

On the day of the kidnapping, he saw her walk away from their home while he was distracted in the garage and became suspicious she was planning to meet another man. He tried to stop her by force near their home, but she bit his finger when he put his hand over her mouth to keep her from yelling, so he temporarily backed off. 

He then followed her in his ute before confronting her again. 

“I’ve got a knife here,” he told her. “Get in the car before I stab you.” 

He continued to hold her against her will for over six hours, taking her cellphone and at one point stabbing his own leg as he drove to various Coromandel locations. 

“I wouldn’t have done this if you listened to me,” he said, also warning her to keep quiet or he would “do something crazy”. 

The kidnapping ended later that night, after he returned to Auckland and met one of his adult sons in Papakura. 

“[The son] spoke to the defendant and [the victim] for about an hour, de-escalating the situation,” court documents state. “Eventually, the defendant apologised and handed the knife to [his son]. 

“The defendant asked [his wife] and [his son] to keep this incident between them. They agreed and returned to the family home. Police were therefore not notified of this incident at that time.” 

A third charge, involving the wounding of the same adult son on the night of the knife attack on the girl, was withdrawn by Crown prosecutor Natalie Walker today as a result of his guilty pleas to the other charges. That injury came about as the son grabbed the knife in an attempt to disarm the defendant, court documents state. 

Attempted murder and kidnapping both carry a maximum sentence of 14 years’ imprisonment. 

Craig Kapitan is an Auckland-based journalist covering courts and justice. He joined the Herald in 2021 and has reported on courts since 2002 in three newsrooms in the US and New Zealand. 

This article was originally posted on the NZ Herald here.