GUILTY NZ - Sean McKinnon, Australian tourist, shot dead, campervan robbery, North Islands Raglan, Aug 2019

[JudgeJudi]

This plea of not guilty is , somewhat, par for the course, it is likely to change as the trial date gets closer, if, as I assume, he is on some sort of Legal Aid program.

Also... I don't know how long this name suppression thingy can hold out, sometime his name has to become public , crime is a public matter, …

Hi @Trooper, The suppression order can remain even once the trial has concluded and the accused is found guilty. Essentially it can remain in place for as long as the court is satisfied it is necessary to do so.

You might like to read this article.

Several legal reasons Grace Millane's killer continues to have name suppression

 

[Trooper]

Hi @Trooper, The suppression order can remain even once the trial has concluded and the accused is found guilty. Essentially it can remain in place for as long as the court is satisfied it is necessary to do so.

You might like to read this article.

Several legal reasons Grace Millane's killer continues to have name suppression

A much appreciated article, thankyou, Judge!...... I still don't know if he pleaded not guilty or if he did, indeed, as I expected him to as the case drew nearer, to pleading guilty.. Whatever it was, he was found guilty.

When his sentence comes up, then the plea he made will have significance, .... unless , of course, he was too ill to instruct his solicitor, and this sometimes happens, it's dreadful all round.

What a sad , sad needless , baseless crime, lives ruined forever... nothing gained, everything lost.....

 

[JudgeJudi]

I just found an interesting article that explains how the accused got the gun, and it's probably not what you expect.

“The person police believe killed McKinnon can now be named as Mark Garson.”

Roderick Finlayson supplied the gun used to shoot Sean McKinnon and was sentenced to six months community detention by Justice Lang after earlier pleading guilty to unlawful possession of a firearm and ammunition.

Finlayson told the court he bought the gun in August 2019 but had no knowledge of what the firearm would allegedly be used for. According to the summary of facts read to the court during his sentencing, Garson allegedly contacted Finlayson, who has a firearms licence, via Facebook in March of last year asking for him to purchase a firearm.

During the exchange that continued sporadically in the following months, Finlayson suggested purchasing a gun on TradeMe and he would pick it up. He said he had “so much to lose” by buying the gun.

On August 12, 2019 the pair agreed that Finlayson would buy the firearm in exchange for $400. Garson allegedly told Finlayson the type of firearm and ammunition he wanted specifying “strong deadly ammo” to use for hunting at the back of the farm.

The following day, Garson allegedly picked up Finlayson and they drove to a gun store where Finlayson purchased a 12G Dickinson XX3 shotgun with three different types of ammunition, showing his firearms licence to the store owner as proof before being dropped home.

Read the article as to how the sentence was arrived at.

You don’t usually see how a sentence is arrived at in such detail but that’s because it’s usually the sentence for the murderer which is more straight forward.

Man who supplied gun in Raglan tourist shooting sentenced

I read in another article that Finlayson originally told police he stored the gun and bullets in a gun safe. However, more recently he admitted giving the weapon to Garson that same day.

NB: Community detention is a punitive sentence that restricts an offender's movements during their curfew. It requires an offender to remain at an approved residence at certain times specified by the court. This is known as the offender's curfew.

 

[JudgeJudi]

If you haven't seen what Garson looks like, watch the video on p.2 #38 @ 1:13 and 2:23.

I hope that's not his young child in the back.

 

[JudgeJudi]

It seems as though he's still pleading not guilty. Perhaps he will allege some form of mental impairment at the time as a mitigating factor.

I find these random killings terribly tragic. What a waste of a young man's life and the happy future his fiancee was looking forward to sharing with him destroyed in seconds. It was totally needless.

 

[they'll get you]

The man who shot Australian surfer Sean McKinnon while he was travelling New Zealand with his girlfriend has pleaded guilty to his murder.
Mark Ronald Garson, from Hamilton, admitted to killing Mr McKinnon, 33, as he slept in a campervan in the coastal town of Raglan.


New Zealand man pleads guilty to murder of Australian surfer

 

[JudgeJudi]

Mark Garson pleaded not guilty to Mr McKinnon’s murder late last year, but changed his plea to guilty today in Hamilton's High Court.

Until today, Garson's name was subject to a non-publication order, due to his mental health.

Members of the McKinnon family plan to travel to New Zealand for Garson's sentencing on December 9.

Killer admits to murdering Victorian surfer while he slept in campervan in NZ

 

[Trooper]

Mark Garson pleaded not guilty to Mr McKinnon’s murder late last year, but changed his plea to guilty today in Hamilton's High Court.

Until today, Garson's name was subject to a non-publication order, due to his mental health.

Members of the McKinnon family plan to travel to New Zealand for Garson's sentencing on December 9.

Killer admits to murdering Victorian surfer while he slept in campervan in NZ

Well.. Not an unexpected outcome, all things considered.. That plea may have a heavy input into the decision about his sentencing, which I do hope will be one of long term custody, as he is nowhere near being ' cured' of his unfortunate malady. Still.. a sad horrid event, no light at the end of that tunnel whatsoever,

 

[JudgeJudi]

Reminder: Mark Garson, will be sentenced for murder and threatening to murder on 9 December.

His mental state at the time is sure to be a mitigating factor.

 

[JudgeJudi]

The court heard Garson wanted to die and had asked his friend to shoot him. Justice Christine Gordon said, "You said recoil prevented you from shooting it yourself. Your friend travelled to Raglan with you despite his reluctance".

Garson was high on methamphetamine when he arrived in Raglan, pulling up next to McKinnon and Buckley's campervan. The Judge said Garson went into the bushes with his friend who refused to shoot him. He then left Garson stranded on the roadside.

The Judge said, "You told them you'd been left and needed a ride. McKinnon offered you a cellphone, but then you became aggressive when he didn't offer you a ride. You smashed a side window and then fired a shot into it. It hit McKinnon in the mid-right side of the abdomen." The court heard that McKinnon still tried to diffuse the situation even after being shot. "Then you shot him clean, at the base of his skull. It was not an accident."

Raglan murder: Mark Garson sentenced to life in prison

 

[JudgeJudi]

Mark Ronald Garson, 24, entered unexpected guilty pleas in October after being due to stand trial in November for the murder of Sean McKinnon and threatening to kill his partner Bianca Buckley.

He has been sentenced to life imprisonment with a minimum non-parole period of 15 and a half years.

Video included of sister speaking after sentencing.

Killer Mark Garson jailed for life for murdering Sean McKinnon at Raglan - NZ Herald

 

[JudgeJudi]

Crown prosecutor Jacinda Hamilton said the murder was an explosive violent episode. “There was a high level of callousness. This man effectively executed Mr McKinnon when Mr McKinnon was doing all that he could to assist him.”

What happened was a genuine tragedy, defence counsel Charles Bean said, but Garson's methamphetamine addiction and mental health issues provided context.

Garson made multiple attempts on his life in the weeks leading up to the shooting and was seen by the crisis team after his arrest.

He hoped to complete rehabilitation and to help others, Bean said.

Garson had said he was hallucinating and hearing voices at the time.

He was sentenced to three years in prison for threatening to kill Buckley, to be served concurrently.

Raglan tourist murder: Killer jailed for life over 'meaningless' campervan killing

 

[JudgeJudi]

The Crown said Garson was a brutal killer, but according to his lawyer he was a man with significant drug and mental health issues.

Crown Prosecutor Jacinda Hamilton describes the offending as the most serious of its kind. "This offending is properly characterised an an inexplicably explosive, violent episode during which the defendant repeatedly shot an unarmed man at close range and without warning in what was an entirely unprovoked attack." She described it as an execution killing.

"This was particularly brutal. There was a high level of callousness that can properly be regarded as depraved and there was real cruelty in the way that the defendant acted first towards Mr McKinnon and then towards his fiancee."

Defence lawyer Charles Bean described the killing as an utterly senseless act, but that Garson was on a methamphetamine binge and was intending to kill himself that night. He said Garson started on cannabis at the age of 12 and meth at 15.

"We know that he was on a binge of methamphetamine use. We know he was suffering from depression. We know now from the probation reports he has been diagnosed with post traumatic stress disorder and we know that he had made an arrangement for his friend to kill him that evening."

Justice Gordon described a number of aggravating factors in his offending. "Your actions were determined but they were impulsive, not planned or premeditated. You had a firearm for a very different purpose and when you were left by your friend you acted in the way I have described."

Life sentence for murder of Australian tourist Sean McKinnon

 

[Trooper]

A brutal killer, with a particular and relentless drug habit.. An unfortunate combination of repulsive attributes, not affected mentally from some random genetic misfortune, but deliberate induction of mind altering substances to produce a certain state of mind which relieved him of the need to curb his inhibitions and enthusiasm for mayhem and chaos.


Just a vile crime, by a vile killer.

 

[JudgeJudi]

A brutal killer, with a particular and relentless drug habit.. An unfortunate combination of repulsive attributes, not affected mentally from some random genetic misfortune, but deliberate induction of mind altering substances to produce a certain state of mind which relieved him of the need to curb his inhibitions and enthusiasm for mayhem and chaos.

Just a vile crime, by a vile killer.

I totally agree. He's only 24 and if he was paroled after 15 years 6 months he could still live a long life as a free man. I was rather hoping he'd get a longer sentence, but it wasn't premeditated, hence a shorter time.

It was gut-wrenching to read:

"Sean tried to reason with you … and without any warning you shot him, straight in the liver, point blank.
"He groaned and said, 'Mate, you shot me'."

However, McKinnon continued to look for the keys as blood poured from his body and attempting to defuse the situation.

"Then with no warning you shot him at the base of his skull, killing him instantly."

She said she could only watch as he collapsed to the ground "watching his life leave him".

It would have been devastating for his poor fiancee to have to recall that night again, and horrifying if his family heard this for the first time today.