Poutama Rawiti Clarence Owen appeared in the Hutt Valley District Court before Judge Michael Mika on Wednesday after earlier being found not guilty by reason of insanity on a charge of wounding with intent to cause grievous bodily harm.<\/p>\n
Court documents obtained by RNZ reveal that on November 14, 2024, Owen was on escorted leave in Waiwhetu, Lower Hutt.<\/p>\n
About 7.40pm he walked along a street with \u201cclenched fists\u201d holding a black handled knife, with a sharp blade.<\/p>\n
\u201cUpon coming across the victim, the defendant has lunged towards her.\u201d<\/p>\n
Owen struck the woman in the left side of her neck with the knife. He then tried unsuccessfully to stab her a second time in the back before striking her a third time on the right side of her upper back.<\/p>\n
The knife penetrated the victim\u2019s neck and back.<\/p>\n
At the beginning of Wednesday\u2019s hearing the victim, who has name suppression, read a victim impact statement to the court.<\/p>\n
In her statement, which she wrote more than a year ago, she said she had just got off a bus and was walking home with her dinner in her hand when she was stabbed in the neck, back of her head and back by what she thought was a flathead screwdriver by a man she did not know.<\/p>\n
\u201cOnce I knew I was safe in the ambulance and had finally let the emotions hit I felt a lot of sadness, sad because I realised something must be seriously wrong for someone to stab someone who they did not know and to walk away as if nothing had happened.<\/p>\n
\u201cSad because I couldn\u2019t help but think both he and I had been failed by a system that was meant to keep us all safe.\u201d<\/p>\n
She said she was struggling to walk on the street where she was assaulted.<\/p>\n
\u201cI find it hard to be out in public spaces. I feel distrusting of others and uncomfortable in places with strangers. I find myself being easily startled, and this in itself has negatively impacted my sleep which has had its own knock-on effects.<\/p>\n
\u201cI find people coming from behind me frightens me and strangers coming towards me makes me feel anxious.\u201d<\/p>\n
The woman said it had been \u201cincredibly exhausting\u201d both mentally and emotionally for her and her family.<\/p>\n
Upon learning of the \u201cescorted leave mental health dynamic\u201d the woman felt \u201cincredibly sad and angry\u201d.<\/p>\n
\u201cI am incredibly aware of how severe my situation was and how fortunate a number of my past experiences, current capabilities and know-how prevented this from being a much worse situation and perhaps even saved my life.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt is with that in mind that I never want anyone else to experience and go through what I did, I don\u2019t want blame and the additional harm that often comes with that, but responsibility which leads to actions which improves things, to ensure such things never happen again, because I want to be able to feel safe in my local community.\u201d<\/p>\n
The woman had recently updated her victim impact statement to include that over a year on her journey to heal from the trauma continued.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt is extremely difficult to be able to move on from such harm on a street that I continue to walk most days, which serves as a regular reminder of what happened and what could have been much worse.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe should all be able to feel and be safe in our neighbourhoods, which on that Thursday evening, we unfortunately were not. I hope for my own continued healing and wholeness, to be able to move on and find greater peace. But I also hope for healing and wholeness for the man who stabbed me.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u2018Severe treatment resistant illness\u2019<\/p>\n
Owen\u2019s lawyer told the court the 26-year-old had a \u201cvery basic understanding\u201d of what was going on in terms of the court process.<\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019ve explained to him prior to call today that it\u2019s recommended that he be made a special patient, I don\u2019t think he really understands it.<\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019ve done my best to explain that he will, if an order was made, he\u2019s going to stay in hospital for quite some time \u2026 his capacity to understand that is very limited.\u201d<\/p>\n
The lawyer said his position was to neither consent nor oppose the making of a special patient order.<\/p>\n
The Crown prosecutor said she agreed with the recommendation that Owen be made a special patient.<\/p>\n
Judge Mika told the court he had earlier found Owen not guilty on account of insanity.<\/p>\n
\u201cMr Owen has a severe treatment-resistant illness, namely schizophrenia. He is currently presenting with chronic psychotic features including persecutorial delusions and somatic hallucinations, his current offending \u2026 reflects a well-established pattern of violence, violent behaviours where Mr Owen acted on delusional compulsion to protect himself or others from perceived threats.\u201d<\/p>\n
In September 2021, Owen stabbed a relative, the following year he stabbed another relative, Judge Mika said.<\/p>\n
\u201cMr Owen\u2019s violence is increasing in diversity of victims, initially family and now unprovoked attack on members of the community and also in diversity and severity.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt is concerning that the current charge occurred while Mr Owen was in the care of mental health services. This highlights the difficulties and challenges for the mental health service of accurately predicting and identifying Mr Owen\u2019s violent behaviours. The threshold for detention as a special patient is high, but in my view, in this case, that threshold has been met.\u201d<\/p>\n