3 Oct 2008

Gang member jailed 14 years for killing partner

6:06 pm on 3 October 2008

A member of the Porirua Mongrel Mob who admitted fatally bashing his partner has been sentenced to prison for 14-and-a-half years.

Quentin Duff, 35, earlier pleaded guilty at the High Court in Wellington to the murder of Bronwyn Whakaneke in January this year.

Ms Whakaneke's body was found outside a bus near the Porirua Mongrel Mob pad. She had been hit eight times on the head with a metal bar and also had a number of other injuries.

Duff admitted the killing part-way through a depositions hearing in August.

The Court heard the relationship had been a violent one, and that in the past Ms Whakaneke had received treatment for assaults committed with a knife, a baseball bat and a metal pole.

The Crown sought a minimum non-parole period of at least 18 years, but defence lawyer Greg King said his client deserved credit for not putting the victim's family through the trauma of a trial.

Justice Simon France described Duff's actions as brutal, but agreed there should be some recognition of his guilty plea.

He set a starting point of 17 years and reduced the minimum non-parole period by two years to reflect that.

Ms Whakaneke's father, Wayne, said he had told her to leave Duff but she had not taken his advice. He said Friday's hearing has brought the family some closure.