Warning - this story includes distressing details of domestic violence.
A Whangārei murderer who struck his partner more than 100 times has been sentenced to life imprisonment.
Samuel Hemuera Pou. Photo: RNZ / Sam Olley
In June, a jury found Samuel Hemuera Pou guilty of murdering mother-of-two Bridget Simmonds.
She was reported missing in March 2019 and her buried body was found in a shallow grave last year.
This morning, her family members held hands and cried as Pou was given a life sentence for her killing.
She was beaten for more than 90 minutes and she had fractures across her skeleton.
Pou sat masked and expressionless in the dock and was told he will not be eligible for parole for 17 years.
The 59-year-old has already spent three decades of his life behind bars.
Justice Christine Gordon also sentenced him with concurrent jail terms for injuring Simmonds in two separate beatings leading up to her death, and for injuring another former partner three times.
Court statements
Simmonds' mother Carol Callen gave evidence at her trial but she has since died of cancer.
She recorded a victim impact statement in her final weeks of life and it was played to the court.
Callen and other family members searched campgrounds, cabins and tents when Simmonds disappeared and distributed missing persons' notices.
"We started to get desperate, then came the slow realisation that something terrible had happened to her."
Callen cried herself to sleep for weeks.
She was diagnosed with PTSD, her blood pressure quickly rose and was later told she had terminal cancer.
"The best thing I can remember about Bridget was that she could make me laugh until I cried. I miss her so much," Callen said in her recording.
"My daughter was murdered but so many people loved her and her love will shine through."
Simmonds' uncle John Callen also gave a recorded statement, saying the murder was "appalling".
"Several of us have suffered loss of sleep. I find myself just stopping and bursting into tears. For some, it has affected the ability to work efficiently. For others, it's been a huge effort to fight off depression."
He said Pou had shown "not a hint of remorse".
"In fact, he even tried to blame the victim."
Justice Gordon agreed Pou had not shown he was sorry.
The court heard he was sexually abused as a child and in state care.
He grew up in what Gordon said was "systemic deprivation".
Pou began offending age 15, was expelled at school for punching bullies and teachers, and did not learn to read until he got to prison.
The trial
The jury was presented evidence from dozens of witnesses, including police investigators, family members and scientists at the three-week trial earlier this year.
Callen told the jury she saw her daughter for the final time in February 2019, about two weeks before she disappeared.
Simmonds had briefly stayed with her mother and asked to be dropped off at a Countdown supermarket in Whangārei.
Callen told the High Court her daughter yelled something at her as she drove away, but she could not make it out at the time.
"After about half an hour's driving, I was trying to figure out in my head what she yelled at me, and I suddenly clicked: 'Oh my God she said 'don't forget my headstone'."
Callen said her daughter was very sore from a beating on Valentine's Day, when she came to stay.
She said her legs were covered "black and blue" with bruises from her hips to her knees.
The jury also heard from Pou's former housemate, David Erihe.
He said Pou told him during a drinking session around the time Simmonds went missing he had "wasted her" and "knocked her off" then burned her body.
Pou said he did it "because she was taking him to court for assault", Erihe recalled, and Pou was "blasé" when told to hand himself in.
Where to get help
Women's Refuge: (0800 733 843)
It's Not OK (0800 456 450)
Shine: 0508 744 633
Victim Support: 0800 650 654
HELP Call 24/7 (Auckland): 09 623 1700, (Wellington): be 04 801 6655
The National Network of Family Violence Services NZ has information on specialist family violence agencies.
