Man found not guilty of insanity of a double murder in an upscale Auckland suburb can now be revealed as the son of the couple he murdered.
Sheal Bangera can now be named after he lost an attempt to withhold his identity permanently from the Court of Appeals.
He faced two charges of murder and one charge of attempted murder, in connection with the death of married couple Elizabeth and Herman Bangera on March 19, 2021.
Earlier this year, Justice Neil Campbell ordered Bangera to be detained in a hospital as a special patient under the Intellectually Disabled Act.
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His attorney Shane Cassidy said he would not appeal the Court of Appeal’s decision.
Delivered
Herman Bangera, left, and his wife Elizabeth pictured at their son Sheal’s graduation.
Bangera what? previously found not guilty by reason of insanity by Judge Sally Fitzgerald.
“When he comes back into the community, he will meet people who know his background.
“It’s better he tackles that reality now while in expert care and has time to prepare for his reintegration into the community,” Judge Timothy Brewer said.
Because Bangera is a special patient, he has a long treatment period ahead of him before he is eligible to return to the community.
“If the consequences for him of publishing a name lead to extreme hardship, then he is in the best place to mitigate those consequences,”
Defense attorney Shane Cassidy previously argued that his client did not choose to become mentally unwell or have schizophrenia and should continue to undergo oppression.
“He’s coming to terms with the fact that his parents are dead, and he caused it…and he’s going to struggle with that for the rest of his life.”
Cassidy said that in the months leading up to the death, Bangera developed a sense of paranoia and mistrust.
Crown Prosecutor Robin McCoubrey said the victims do not have strong views on maintaining name suppression, but they saw no benefit in lifting the suppression and that the man would like to recover.
In Justice Campbell’s decision, he said that on the morning of March 19, 2021, Bangera attacked and killed his parents and also attacked and attempted to kill another man.
Ricky Wilson / Stuff
Elizabeth and Herman Bangera died of their injuries.
In the morning Bangera was excited and aggressive, pacing the courtyard.
A short time later, Bangera grabbed a large knife and lunged at Herman Bangera, who managed to break free.
Bangera then jumped out to the other man, who managed to grab the blade of the knife, sustaining cuts to his left hand.
The suspect then stabbed his mother. She managed to get back into her house and collapsed due to blood loss and died.
Herman Bangera was then stabbed in the front and back.
Bangera then sat down on the floor and stabbed herself in the stomach and chest.
Justice Campbell said there is a clear risk of the man having a schizophrenic relapse.
“The high risk of relapse and [the man’s] lack of understanding of his condition and rehabilitation prospects also support the conclusion that detention as a special patient would best facilitate his rehabilitation and reintegration into the community.”
While Judge Campbell was satisfied that publishing the man’s name could hinder his recovery and delay his reintegration into the community, he did not grant him permanent repression.
Last year the Bangeras were: remembered by friends as kind-hearted and generous.
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