A man who murdered Australian tourist Sean McKinnon near Raglan has been sentenced to life with a minimum non-parole period of 15 years and six months.
Mark Ronald Garson being sentenced today for the murder of Sean McKinnon and threatening to kill his partner Bianca Buckley. Photo: Dan Cook
He was sentenced in the High Court in Hamilton.
McKinnon, 33, was shot twice at close range by Garson as he attempted to steal the campervan McKinnon and his girlfriend were in.
The first shot hit his abdomen and a second his head. He died instantly.
The Crown said Garson was a brutal killer, but according to his lawyer he was a man with significant drug and mental health issues.
McKinnon and his fiancee Bianca Buckley were asleep in the van at an isolated location near the beachside town when Garson banged on the door demanding the keys to the van. While McKinnon was looking for them, Garson fired a shot into the van hitting him and not long after fired again.
Sean McKinnon Photo: Facebook
Crown Prosecutor Jacinda Hamilton describes the offending as the most serious of its kind.
"This offending is properly characterised an an inexplicably explosive, violent episode during which the defendant repeatedly shot an unarmed man at close range and without warning in what was an entirely unprovoked attack."
She described it as an execution killing.
"This was particularly brutal. There was a high level of callousness that can properly be regarded as depraved and there was real cruelty in the way that the defendant acted first towards Mr McKinnon and then towards his fiancee."
Prosecutor Jacinda Hamilton Photo: RNZ / Dan Cook
After killing McKinnon, Garson then threatened Buckley. She managed to escape and he drove off with McKinnon's body inside the van.
In her victim impact statement she said she was denied a chance to say a final farewell to Sean and cuddle him.
Two of McKinnon's sisters were in court to give victim impact statements and other family members were on video link from Australia.
Emmeline described her younger brother as a beautiful person and someone who would do anything to help people.
She described seeing his body in the morgue.
"And so my brother is gone and where he was has become silent and I hear this silence every day. I would know immediately if he was to step back into this world but I know that he won't because he has gone and he has died and we buried him. Sean meant everything to those that loved him and yet his death was meaningless."
She said the family's grief would never end.
Mary described her brother as a happy and very cool guy.
Sisters Mary and Emmaline McKinnon Photo: RNZ / Dan Cook
"It is not possible to write the beauty of Sean in a few words or convey the gravity of the loss. It is only having known him, having loved him and having been loved by him that you can really understand what was done. His presence made my heart feel full and smiling. His absence is ever present, aching and it is insolvable.
"Since Sean has been gone it feels like someone has blown out the sun."
Defence lawyer Charles Bean described the killing as an utterly senseless act, but that Garson was on a methamphetamine binge and was intending to kill himself that night.
Defence lawyer Charles Bean Photo: RNZ / Dan Cook
"It's trite to say society in New Zealand is awash with mental illness. We have our own epidemic of methamphetamine addiction and it is that very addiction that placed Mark Garson on a fateful journey to a senseless act."
He said Garson started on cannabis at the age of 12 and meth at 15.
"We know that he was on a binge of methamphetamine use. We know he was suffering from depression. We know now from the probation reports he has been diagnosed with post traumatic stress disorder and we know that he had made an arrangement for his friend to kill him that evening."
Justice Gordon described a number of aggravating factors in his offending.
"Your actions were determined but they were impulsive, not planned or premeditated. You had a firearm for a very different purpose and when you were left by your friend you acted in the way I have described."
Justice Gordon Photo: RNZ / Dan Cook
Speaking outside court, Emmeline said the family were happy with the sentence handed down.
"It's a funny day because nothing is going to bring Sean back. We are sadden by that but at the same time too we had been looking forward to it. The Waikato CIB have done a phenomenal job, I don't even know the amount of hours and hard work they have put in."
Justice Gordon allowed Garson a reduction of 18 months on his non-parole sentence for pleading guilty and to take into account personal circumstances.
