A man went to church to confess his sins and said he was 'ready for God' before he was fatally shot by police at a central Auckland park, an inquest has heard.
David Cerven Photo: NZ POLICE
David Cerven, who was 21, was fatally shot by police in Auckland's Myers Park in August 2015.
He had been in the country only five months when his life came to a tragic end.
The Slovak man had taken out a $24,000 loan and travelled to New Zealand with his girlfriend, Eva Vyrvova.
The pair initially stayed with Murray and Judith Steedman on the North Shore, who they found through a friend of a friend.
At an inquest into Mr Cerven's death in the Auckland District Court, Ms Steedman said the young couple stayed with them for three weeks before moving out.
"David came round for a catch-up one afternoon. It was lovely, he said, everything was going well and that they had both got jobs."
Ms Steedman said the next time she saw him was a few weeks later when they both showed up.
"They were in a complete state, Eva was in tears and he was very agitated, he couldn't stand still and refused to come inside.
"He said that he had done something bad and that he was ashamed," Ms Steedman told the court.
The inquest had previously heard Mr Cerven conducted three armed robberies at two liquor shops and a diary.
Ms Steedman said Mr Cerven ran off and despite attempts to find him the next day, they heard he had made his way into the city.
"We went looking for him, Eva said he might be at Myers Park, but he didn't find him there.
"We went home and called the police because we were very worried about him and his mental state," Ms Steedman said.
She said Mr Cerven's girlfriend told her that Mr Cerven had been looking for a church to confess his sins and that he was ready for God.
Mr Cerven had made his way to Myers Park and had called the police to 'come and get him.'
When police arrived Mr Cerven told them he was armed and pulled his hands out his pocket. The police fired eight shots, and the 21-year-old died at the scene after being hit by two of the shots.
Ms Steedman said the police showed up to their house not long after they had returned from looking for David and told them he had died.
"I was so shocked by all of it, he spoke so fondly of his mother, I just wanted to return him to her."
