WARNING: This article discusses domestic abuse and may be upsetting to some readers. 

“Women, Mr Bracey, are not chattels. Girlfriends and partners are not chattels.” 

“You do not have a right to them. You have no right to try and physically control others and you have no right to limit who they choose to have relations with.” 

Those were the strong words delivered by a judge as he sentenced a man to eight years in prison for a vicious late-night attack while his ex-girlfriend and her new partner were camping at a remote beach.  

By the time Michael Bracey was finished, his ex-girlfriend was psychologically scarred and her new partner was suffering from rib fractures, a forehead laceration, scalp haematoma, a triceps strain and contusions.  

Bracey, 50, was found guilty by a jury earlier this year on one charge of wounding with intent to injure and one charge of possession of an offensive weapon, namely a knife, in relation to the November 2021 attack.  

He tried to deny he went to the campground with a plan to attack the couple, instead claiming he was going out in the middle of the night to recover property.  

But it’s an excuse neither the jury or the sentencing judge believed.  

“Your claim of going to this camp in the middle of nowhere, in the middle of the night to recover property ... is complete and utter rubbish,” Judge Gene Tomlinson told Bracey at his sentencing last month. 

The jury heard that in early 2021, Bracey had been in a brief relationship with Maia Pehi-Hannah, whom he met working at a kiwifruit orchard alongside another colleague, Ricky Addison. 

The relationship dissolved in August of that year, however, Bracey struggled to accept this and multiple incidents occurred between the pair, including him being trespassed from her place of work. 

When Pehi-Hannah began a relationship with Addison in November, Bracey discovered they were going camping and dropped a location pin of where she was to her phone, followed by a text saying, “Your man better sleep with one eye open”. 

Bracey dressed head to toe in black with gloves and diving boots, parked his car an hour’s walk from Jaggers Camp on the Te Araroa trail and made his way through terrain including across a remote beach, armed with a hammer and knife in the middle of the night. 

While Addison was cooking the couple’s dinner, Bracey came at him with a hammer, striking him in the head. 

The pair then got into a tussle, before emergency services arrived. 

In the sentencing notes recently released to NZME, Judge Tomlinson said the hour-long 111 call captured his explosive state, “berserker syndrome” and Bracey saying he could be found at Ngāwha prison, a clear indicator he was the aggressor. 

“You knew you were the offender, you knew you were the aggressor, and you knew you had gone there with intent upon serious violence,” Judge Tomlinson said at his sentencing. 

The judge commended Pehi-Hannah for her courage amid the chaos, noting her plea for help in the 111 call: “Can you just get here really quick ... I’m trying to stop these two guys from killing each other.” 

Pehi-Hannah was left with psychological effects. 

“My anxiety has become crippling since this attack. I feel as if I am constantly being followed or watched and find it impossible to relax,” she said in her victim impact statement. 

“I feel I have been robbed of my early 20s by a man who had no right to do so. For nearly three years, I have been unable to move on, just waiting for the court date, for it all to be brought back up. 

“The amount of emotional and psychological pain that I felt because of Michael Bracey is insurmountable.” 

Jaggers Camp is in the Northland leg of the 3000km Te Araroa national hike from Cape Reinga to Bluff. 

Judge Tomlinson highlighted the high rate of domestic violence-related homicides that occurred in New Zealand stemming from this same scenario. 

He also said no one believed Bracey’s lies of self-defence after his claims of going to the site to retrieve property. 

“Your claim of going to this camp in the middle of nowhere, in the middle of the night to recover property when you knew your property was not there or unlikely to be there, where you knew your ex-girlfriend and her new partner were camping, where you had sent a text message saying ‘Your man better sleep with one eye open’, or something to that effect, where you were dressed in dark clothing, where you parked a long walk away, and just happened to be there and happened to be attacked is complete and utter rubbish. 

“The jury did not believe it, I did not believe it, it was never going to be believed.” 

FAMILY VIOLENCE 

How to get help: If you're in danger now: 

• Phone the police on 111 or ask neighbours or friends to ring for you. 
• Run outside and head for where there are other people. Scream for help so your neighbours can hear you. 
• Take the children with you. Don't stop to get anything else. 
• If you are being abused, remember it's not your fault. Violence is never okay.

Where to go for help or more information:

• Women's Refuge: Crisis line - 0800 REFUGE or 0800 733 843 (available 24/7) 
• Shine: Helpline - 0508 744 633 (available 24/7) 
• It's Not Ok: Family violence information line - 0800 456 450 
• Shakti: Specialist services for African, Asian and Middle Eastern women and children. 
• Crisis line - 0800 742 584 (available 24/7) 
• Ministry of Justice: For information on family violence 
• Te Kupenga Whakaoti Mahi Patunga: National Network of Family Violence Services 
• White Ribbon: Aiming to eliminate men's violence towards women.

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Shannon Pitman is a Whangārei-based reporter for Open Justice covering courts in the Te Tai Tokerau region. She is of Ngāpuhi/ Ngāti Pūkenga descent and has worked in digital media for the past five years. She joined NZME in 2023. 

This article was originally posted on the NZ Herald here.