{"id":160268,"date":"2025-11-29T22:05:08","date_gmt":"2025-11-29T22:05:08","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/160268\/"},"modified":"2025-11-29T22:05:08","modified_gmt":"2025-11-29T22:05:08","slug":"mitchell-te-kanis-sister-told-off-after-reading-pre-approved-victim-impact-statement","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/160268\/","title":{"rendered":"Mitchell Te Kani\u2019s sister told off after reading pre-approved victim impact statement"},"content":{"rendered":"

Eventually, after a second victim impact was given by another person<\/a>, the courtroom was put into chambers. When it was reopened, Beilby was told she was not allowed back in.<\/p>\n

It\u2019s a move that\u2019s left Beilby feeling frustrated and re-victimised<\/a>.<\/p>\n

\u201cI felt being pulled aside and made an example of it was a bit rich considering why we were there, and I feel like justice has not been served in this case.\u201d<\/p>\n

Beilby\u2019s brother Mitchell Te Kani<\/a> was killed after being struck with a crowbar during a brawl at their wh\u0101nau family home in Tauranga in 2023.<\/p>\n

Nine people stood trial last year<\/a> and were sentenced in relation to his death earlier this year. <\/p>\n

A 10th person, Hamiora William Jack-Kino, was found guilty of manslaughter, and four other charges relating to the serious assault of the victim\u2019s brother and father, at a separate trial.<\/p>\n

He was tried on his own because there was doubt over his fitness to stand trial, along with his cognitive issues, which would have caused delays due to an increased number of breaks being required each day.<\/p>\n

He was then deemed mentally fit and given a communication assistant throughout his trial, which was held in the High Court at Rotorua earlier this year.<\/p>\n

\u2018I feel we\u2019ve been further victimised\u2019<\/p>\n

Beilby was the first of two people to read a victim impact statement at Jack-Kino\u2019s sentencing in the High Court at Hamilton on October 16.<\/p>\n

After Justice Peters invited Beilby up to the front of the court to read it, she told the judge she wanted to read the parts that had been redacted before the hearing.<\/p>\n

\"PaulaPaula Beilby (fourth from left) pictured with her wh\u0101nau outside the High Court at Hamilton after being kicked out by Justice Mary Peters. Photo \/ Belinda Feek<\/p>\n

\u201cI felt the whole justice system … and the way it\u2019s worked, it\u2019s just further victimised our whole family, and I felt it was just something that needed to be said, that wraps up the whole of the trial, and what we\u2019ve gone through,\u201d she told the judge, in explaining why she had wanted to read the unredacted version. <\/p>\n

Justice Peters then explained to her how victim impact statements were permitted under the Victims\u2019 Rights Act. <\/p>\n

\u201cAnd it\u2019s got very clear controls on what can be said and what cannot, and I\u2019m not in charge of that.<\/p>\n

\u201cI can tell you what the law is, but I don\u2019t make it.<\/p>\n

\u201cSo, if the redactions were made, (a), they weren\u2019t made by me, but they will have been made because that\u2019s what needed to happen if they were to be read.\u201d<\/p>\n

Justice Peters said she could read the full statement herself, or Beilby could read the redacted version out loud.<\/p>\n

She then asked her what she wanted to do.<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019d prefer it if I was able to read the whole statement, but since you have set that precedent for us…\u201d Beilby said.<\/p>\n

Justice Peters replied: \u201cI haven\u2019t set any precedent for you.<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019ve told you what is in the legislation,\u201d she added.<\/p>\n

Beilby then started reading her approved statement.<\/p>\n

But, when she mentioned how Jack-Kino had a separate trial, \u201cat the taxpayer\u2019s expense because you, or your counsel, deemed you special enough to warrant one\u201d, the judge stopped her.<\/p>\n

This was despite Beilby reading from her statement that had been approved by the Crown ahead of the sentencing. <\/p>\n

\u201cThat\u2019s actually not correct,\u201d Justice Peters told her, \u201cSo I don\u2019t want those kinds of offensive remarks made in court.<\/p>\n

\"TaurangaTauranga man Mitchell Te Kani was killed on May 14, 2022. Photo \/ Supplied<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019ve listened to you politely, you don\u2019t know the first thing about why Mr Jack-Kino had a separate trial, and I\u2019m not prepared to have you say those things. <\/p>\n

\u201cThey are incorrect and [Crown prosecutor Daniel Coulson] should have corrected it for you.<\/p>\n

\u201cIf he didn\u2019t, the detective should have.\u201d <\/p>\n

That\u2019s when Beilby apologised, saying she was only reading what she had in front of her. <\/p>\n

Justice Peters replied saying she didn\u2019t care what she was reading and it was \u201ctotally unacceptable\u201d for her to make that comment.<\/p>\n

Beilby was responding when the judge interrupted her, and told her to sit at the rear of the court and she would finish reading her statement on her own. <\/p>\n

Bebe Hewitt, whose son was a victim in the brawl, then read her statement before Justice Peters closed the courtroom, ordering a chambers discussion.<\/p>\n

Shortly afterwards, Justice Peters decided to take the rare move of not letting Beilby back in.<\/p>\n

\u2018I almost expect it out of the system now\u2019<\/p>\n

When approached by NZME outside court, Beilby said she did understand why there had to be two trials, but her point was that didn\u2019t serve them as a wh\u0101nau for those involved to have to give evidence again.<\/p>\n

\u201cTo have my 74-year-old father sit and recall everything of those horrific events of the night, you know, that\u2019s why you see so many of us here, because we are all affected.<\/p>\n

\u201cI felt being pulled aside and made an example of, it was a bit rich considering why we were there, and I feel like justice has not been served in this case.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"BodineBodine Jackson Umuroa, Hamiora John Te Moana Bennett, Shem Williams, Kiri Mererina Pini, Mihaka Ratahi, Jahvaun Te Ari Layne, Kevin Allan Isaac Haimona Tunui Bailey, and Witaiawa Robinson were all jailed for the murder of Mitchell Te Kani (inset), when they appeared for sentencing in the High Court at Hamilton. Photo \/ NZ Herald composite<\/p>\n

She said she wasn\u2019t allowed back in, she was led into another room and given the option of watching proceedings from there via an audio-visual link.<\/p>\n

She turned it down and instead waited outside as Justice Peters jailed Jack-Kino for nine years and issued a minimum non-parole period of four years. <\/p>\n

Beilby said it wasn\u2019t as if she was threatening, or physically attacking, Jack-Kino or his family, like he and his co-offenders did their wh\u0101nau that fateful night.<\/p>\n

\u201cThey have no idea how they made my family feel.\u201d<\/p>\n

Upon hearing Jack-Kino\u2019s sentence, Bielby she feels it wasn\u2019t a deterrent.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s laughable. <\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019m past actually feeling offended because I have almost expected it out of the system.\u201d<\/p>\n

Beilby said she did feel \u201ca bit hard done by, but I\u2019m just not surprised\u201d. <\/p>\n

\u2018The hearings are often tense and emotional\u2019<\/p>\n

In a statement, a spokesperson from the Office of the Chief Justice confirmed that it was the responsibility of the prosecutor \u201cfor putting victim impact statements before the court\u201d.<\/p>\n

While redactions were not expressly addressed in the Victims\u2019 Rights Act, it was not uncommon for that to happen.<\/p>\n

They could be used because of abuse being directed at the offender, references to unrelated matters, or offending other than that before the court.<\/p>\n

A judge must approve the reading of a statement in court.<\/p>\n

Asked whether it was normal practice for a judge to read a victim impact statement ahead of a sentencing hearing, the spokesperson confirmed it was, but she was unable to comment on specific cases.<\/p>\n

However, the statement didn\u2019t address Beilby specifically being removed from the courtroom; instead, the spokesperson said sentencing hearings \u201care often tense and emotional\u201d.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe presiding judge is responsible for managing proceedings in court in a way that is orderly and safe for the people in the courtroom.<\/p>\n

\u201cTo do this, judges are required to make decisions in the moment, consistent with what they consider necessary to ensure a hearing proceeds in a safe and orderly way.\u201d<\/p>\n

The spokesperson said judges were increasingly seeing victim impact statements that contained material that was outside the scope of the legislation, including comments directed at offenders, and abuse.<\/p>\n

\u2018I have significant concerns\u2019<\/p>\n

Ruth Money, chief victims adviser to the Government, said while she couldn\u2019t comment on an individual case, she did have some concerns.<\/p>\n

\u201cI am certainly very concerned when any victim and wh\u0101nau are asked to leave a courtroom.<\/p>\n

\"ChiefChief victims adviser to the Government Ruth Money. Photo \/ Supplied<\/p>\n

\u201cNot only does it go against open and transparent justice, it\u2019s not how anyone, let alone victim survivors, should be treated.\u201d<\/p>\n

Money said she\u2019d heard of victims being warned \u201cfor going off-script and discussing justice issues, as opposed to the impact of the offending, but in my 13 years I have never had a victim removed from a courtroom\u201d.<\/p>\n

\u201cI have significant concerns for any victim who is asked to leave a hearing.\u201d<\/p>\n

Speaking generally, Money said she would expect victims to be spoken to with respect and any issues to be explained well.<\/p>\n

The writing of a victim impact statement involved either a victim support person, a court victims adviser or a police officer sitting down with the victim. <\/p>\n

Once drawn up, it went to the prosecutor to be checked, before it was edited or approved by the sitting judge.<\/p>\n

She said it was then returned to the victim, who is told why certain portions may have been changed or edited out. <\/p>\n

Money said there was no consistency around the country about what was acceptable in a statement.<\/p>\n

\u201cSo what one prosecutor or judge will allow is completely different to another.\u201d<\/p>\n

Money said she was currently working with the Ministry of Justice on making improvements to the Victims\u2019 Rights Act.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt does need to be improved in terms of responsibilities and process.\u201d <\/p>\n

Belinda Feek is an Open Justice reporter based in Waikato. She has worked at NZME for 10 years and has been a journalist for 21.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Eventually, after a second victim impact was given by another person, the courtroom was put into chambers. When…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":160269,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2],"tags":[74,23500,105483,5430,111,43,139,69,6662,105484,1111,27886,9343,8690,6859,1337],"class_list":{"0":"post-160268","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-new-zealand","8":"tag-after","9":"tag-impact","10":"tag-kanis","11":"tag-mitchell","12":"tag-new-zealand","13":"tag-news","14":"tag-newzealand","15":"tag-nz","16":"tag-off","17":"tag-preapproved","18":"tag-reading","19":"tag-sister","20":"tag-statement","21":"tag-te","22":"tag-told","23":"tag-victim"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/160268","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=160268"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/160268\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/160269"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=160268"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=160268"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=160268"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}