21 Aug 2019

Auckland teen tried to stab ex-girlfriend to death after relationship break-up

5:12 pm on 21 August 2019

By Edward Gay for Stuff.co.nz

A teenager used a fake Facebook account to lure his ex-girlfriend to a lunch date, where he repeatedly stabbed her in the street.

The scene of the stabbing on Anzac Ave.

The scene of the stabbing on Anzac Ave in central Auckland. Photo: RNZ / Katie Scotcher

Micah Shannon Santos appeared at the High Court in Auckland on 9 August where he admitted a charge of attempted murder.

His mother and father, and the woman he tried to murder, were in the public gallery for his guilty plea.

Justice Christian Whata granted Stuff's application for a copy of the agreed summary of facts but imposed an interim suppression order covering the document in order to give the victim and Santos time to process the developments.

That order has now lapsed.

According to the agreed summary of facts, the couple met while studying on a course together.

But the relationship was rocky and Santos would often accuse the woman of cheating on him.

In November 2018, the woman made a number of posts online showing her with other men.

The following day, when Santos tried to contact her on Facebook, she told him the relationship was over and blocked his messages.

The court document said on the same day, Santos got a Snapchat message showing the woman in a "compromising position".

Santos began thinking about doing serious harm to the woman.

The then-18-year-old took to Facebook.

Santos created a fake profile in the name of Sarah Hussein and messaged the woman, the summary of facts said.

The messages from the Sarah Hussein profile said she was a friend of Santos and that the two women should get together for lunch and a chat.

Five days later, on November 22, Santos used the "Sarah Hussein" profile to send the woman more messages, this time to arrange a lunch date, on Anzac Ave.

He took two knives from the kitchen, carrying them in his Louis Vuitton bag, and left his Henderson home for the train station, the document said.

The scene on Anzac Ave where a woman was reportedly stabbed.

Photo: RNZ / Katie Scotcher

Once in town, he made his way up to the meeting point on Anzac Ave, just around the corner from the High Court.

Eventually he bumped into the woman and the pair began to argue.

Santos told the woman he would kill her before he put his hands around her throat.

He then released his grip, only to pull a knife from his bag.

The woman told him: "You don't have the guts to do it".

Santos put the knife back in the bag and the woman went to walk away.

But Santos grabbed her and tried to drag her into a nearby carpark, the document said.

When the woman screamed Santos let her go but again went for the knife, holding it up the sleeve of his jumper.

The woman saw the knife and asked Santos: "Are you serious Micah, would you do that to me?"

Santos grabbed her by the neck and stabbed her in the stomach.

When the woman fell to the ground, Santos continually stabbed her in the torso.

In all, Santos stabbed the woman 20 times and only stopped when passers-by realised what was happening and began yelling at him.

He dropped the knife and his bag before running from Anzac Ave.

Santos headed back to the train.

He was arrested at Orakei train station after calling 111 and telling the phone operator what he had done.

The woman was left with life-threatening injuries.

One of the stab wounds missed her heart by mere centimetres.

She was taken to Auckland City Hospital where she underwent emergency surgery and was in critical care for days.

When police interviewed Santos, he told them he had travelled to the city to kill the woman.

He also said if he hadn't been successful, he would have tried again the following day.

Santos will be sentenced in October.

This story first appeared on Stuff.co.nz