The two daughters of a man who bludgeoned their mother to death with a claw hammer say they live in fear that he will track them down once he gets out of prison.
Martin Schofield at his sentencing at the High Court in Rotorua. Photo: RNZ / Andrew McRae
Martin Schofield was sentenced to life in prison and must serve at least 11 years for killing his partner, 47-year-old Katrina Drummond, in their Taupo home in April.
He pleaded guilty and claimed he snapped after Ms Drummond told him she was seeing another man.
Schofield went to the garage, got a knife and vandalised her car, then grabbed a claw hammer, went back into the Elizabeth Street house and found her in the bedroom.
He came up behind her and struck her on the head and after she fell to the ground, he hit her at least seven times, leaving her with massive injuries.
Schofield then locked up the house and drove to the Taupo Police Station and told them what he had done.
Katrina Drummond Photo: Facebook
Ms Drummond has three daughters - 29-year-old Lana and 25-year-old Zara with Schofield and 14-year-old who is Schofield's step-daughter.
The two older daughters wrote long victim impact statements which were read to the court by other people, Lana's by anti-domestic violence campaigner David White, whose own daughter, Helen Meads, was killed by husband Greg Meads in Matamata in 2009.
In their statement they talked about their father, who split from their mother when they were young before reconnecting after 17 years.
They said he was controlling, and that their mother was scared of him.
The two women said they did not believe they could ever feel safe again, and that he single-handedly ruined not only their mother's life but theirs as well.
Schofield has written letters to his daughters while in custody.
They described the letters as chatty in nature, and written as if they had accepted what had happened.
They said he likened the prison to a Top Ten Holiday Park, and said he was enjoying it.
Disgusting act
The women described the killing as a disgusting act by a single human, and said they would never forget or forgive that he took their mother from them, and they would never acknowledge him again.
Schofield claimed he snapped after Ms Drummond told him about the other man and he blamed it on her use of alcohol, saying she was an alcoholic.
At today's sentencing in the High Court in Rotorua, Justice Toogood said it was clear the family were suffering.
He said Ms Drummond was vulnerable and defenceless, and that the surprise attack was unprovoked and arose from a jealous rage.
The judge called it cowardly, and said Schofield had only one intent, which he carried out brutally.
Justice Toogood's starting point for the sentence was 12 years and six months. He took six months off for Schofield's good character, meaning no previous convictions or use of violence, and another 12 months off for an early guilty plea, leaving the non-parole period at 11 years.
