A man who allegedly murdered a stranger as she walked home from work, his name will be kept a secret for now as he is still being assessed by mental health professionals.
Laisa Waka, 52, was just yards from her home in Cheyenne St, Sockburn, when she… attacked by a man with a knife on June 25 at about 4.20 pm. She died on the spot.
A 37-year-old man, who is under name suppression, was arrested a short time later, about 500 meters away on Epsom Rd, and charged with murder.
The man appeared in the High Court in Christchurch on Friday before Judge Cameron Mander.
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His attorney, Josh Lucas, asked for the name to be continued as reports continued to be conducted to determine whether the man was fit to stand trial under Section 38 of the Criminal Procedure Act. (mentally handicapped persons) 2003.
Lucas asked for the case to be adjourned and for a second report under the law and whether he had a defense of insanity.
Justice Mander said a preliminary injunction to suppress the name would continue. He is due to appear on August 26.
The man, who appeared via audiovisual link, was silent during the hearing.
A two-week trial date has been set for February 2024.
The man was a patient at Hillmorton Hospital, where he was being cared for in a secure ward.
Waka’s grieving husband, Nemani Tunidau, previously said he was angry that the man who allegedly killed her had been in the community.
DELIVERED
Laisa Waka died on June 25. A 37-year-old man has been charged with murder.
“Why was he gone?”
Waka moved from Fiji to New Zealand for a better life in 2018 and was a highly respected member of Christchurch’s Moraia Fijian Parish, where she sang in the choir and was known for her baking.
She and Tunidau married in 1998 and the couple had four children, three of whom still live in Fiji.
Tunidau called Waka “the love of my life”.
A day after her death fronting the media, Canterbury County Superintendent John Price described the “senseless” attack on Waka as “horrific, traumatic and indiscriminate”.
Te Whatu Ora Waitaha Canterbury Chief Executive Dr. Peter Bramley said a full review of the accused’s care at Hillmorton Hospital was underway after what was deemed a “serious side effect”.
“I can assure the public that if there are recommendations for changes to be made as a result of our own or external review, they will be implemented.”
The director of mental health, Dr John Crawshaw, has invoked a rarely used legal authority to order an inspection of the secure unit at Christchurch’s Hillmorton Hospital.
“This incident occurred in the context of concerns about the safety and care provided by these services,” Crawshaw said.
David Walker / Things
The man accused of murdering Laisa Waka had been admitted to Hillmorton Hospital and had been given leave from his ward before Waka’s death.
Crawshaw said that if the inspection determines that there are no systemic or service issues, the public can be confident “about how the services are being run.”
“If issues are found, recommendations will be made to address those issues.”
A separate “complete and independent inquiry” into the murder accused’s concern was led by: Te Whatu Ora (the new national health service)), said Crawshaw.
“So, while there may be some overlap, this inspection is not an assessment of that person’s care.”
He said the inspection was not about identifying “individual staffing problems” but “examining the functioning and resilience” of the adult inpatient service and associated mental health services.
Crawshaw, supported by a small team, would conduct the inspection to ensure there was a “comprehensive investigation into the operational, clinical governance and functioning of adult inpatient and related mental health services.”
The inspectorate would also look into how that governance was controlled by “wider organizational processes”.
The review includes data analysis, interviews with clinical and other personnel, and a review of the clinical record.
Crawshaw said a full report will be published on the Department of Health’s website once the work is completed.
The chief executive of the Mental Health Foundation, Shaun Robinson, previously said mental health care in New Zealand is “under tremendous pressure”.
Waka’s death was a “huge tragedy” for her family and friends, as well as the accused and the staff who cared for him, Robinson said.
Research showed that people with mental health problems were less violent than the average person, and in fact were more likely to be victims of violence, Robinson said.