![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/aneli_katea_4-jpg-webp.webp\")
Victim Aneli Katea. Photo: ODT Files <\/p>\nVictim Aneli Katea. Photo: ODT Files <\/p>\n
A Dunedin boarding-house resident who stabbed a man to death will never be named and will spend the foreseeable future in a secure ward.<\/p>\n
The 26-year-old appeared in the High Court at Dunedin this morning after being found not guilty of the murder of 36-year-old Aneli Helu Katea by reason of insanity.<\/p>\n
Both prosecution and defence agreed on the outcome and Justice Jonathan Eaton duly made an order detaining him as a special patient in a secure facility.<\/p>\n
\u201cHe poses a significant risk to the safety of the community,\u201d the judge said.<\/p>\n
The question of permanent name suppression was more fraught.<\/p>\n
A psychiatrist said publication of the defendant\u2019s name would represent a significantly acute stressor which carried a \u201cgenuine risk to his life\u201d.<\/p>\n
While Crown prosecutor Robin Bates underscored the fact the man would be on a ward where that risk could be managed, Justice Eaton was not convinced.<\/p>\n
The judge said the material filed by clinicians established there was a risk of extreme hardship to the defendant if he was named, which overrode the principal of open justice.<\/p>\n
The suppression order meant both the man\u2019s circumstances and his \u201cunique\u201d family background cannot be reported.<\/p>\n
On October 3 last year, the defendant walked from his boarding-house accommodation to a Great King St squat where his victim was living.<\/p>\n
An argument erupted.<\/p>\n
On the footpath outside, Mr Katea fell to the ground as the defendant stabbed him in the back and chest.<\/p>\n
One wound pierced the victim\u2019s heart, the court heard.<\/p>\n
As Mr Katea limped back to his makeshift home, his attacker wandered off, and after a detour to a shop, he returned to find the man dead.<\/p>\n
Standing in the driveway, the defendant yelled to a passerby: \u201cHello, beautiful woman\u201d and \u201cwhen are the cops going to get here? I\u2019ve just stabbed someone\u201d.<\/p>\n
Police arrived later that afternoon when a member of the public found Mr Katea but their inquiries did not immediately point them in the direction of the defendant.<\/p>\n
Two days after the incident, though, the killer returned to the scene and was spotted \u201cdancing . . . and behaving oddly\u201d.<\/p>\n
When police turned up at the man\u2019s home they found a knife in his bag with what was later found to be the victim\u2019s blood on the blade.<\/p>\n
Officers attempted to interview the defendant but his \u201cnonsensical comments\u201d provided little clarity.<\/p>\n
Subsequent psychiatric assessments were slightly more helpful.<\/p>\n
![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/emergency-services-descended-on-an-abandoned-great-king-st-property-after-a-body-was-found-by-a-webp.webp\")
Emergency services descended on an abandoned Great King St property after a body was found by a member of the public. PHOTO: GREGOR RICHARDSON <\/p>\n
One noted the defendant had an established diagnosis of schizophrenia which was complicated by his use of cannabis, methamphetamine and alcohol.<\/p>\n
The defendant reported auditory hallucinations \u2013 which he previously attributed to \u201cfairies\u201d – of his brothers\u2019 voices imploring him to \u201ccut the head off the boy\u201d.<\/p>\n
However, there were times when the defendant became overwhelmed by anger and at one point threatened to kill a clinician.<\/p>\n
A psychiatrist said it was significant the man\u2019s most recent decline had come while he was taking anti-psychotic medication.<\/p>\n
The defendant was assessed as a high risk of future relapses into \u201cflorid psychosis\u201d, which would be exacerbated by the use of alcohol and non-prescription drugs.<\/p>\n
Justice Eaton noted a report which outlined the man\u2019s history of self-harm, which was a strong predictor of similar future behaviour.<\/p>\n
The diagnosis of schizephrenia only heightened that, he said.<\/p>\n
The judge acknowledged Mr Katea\u2019s family\u2019s pain \u2013 that their loved one had been named while the defendant\u2019s identity remained under wraps.<\/p>\n
They opposed the permanent name suppression of the killer.<\/p>\n
\u201cI understand the family\u2019s frustration and distress,\u201d the judge said.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s a shocking situation you all have to deal with and there\u2019s nothing I can say which will lessen the loss you have suffered.\u201d<\/p>\n
Counsel Anne Stevens KC also stressed the sadness of the situation.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s an extremely unhappy state of affairs . . . it’s tragic for all concerned,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s important the victims of this crime understand [the defendant] will be receiving compulsory treatment for years to come and that in itself keeps the community safe.\u201d<\/p>\n
To be released, the defendant would have to meet a \u201cvery high threshold\u201d regarding his mental stability, Justice Eaton said.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Victim Aneli Katea. Photo: ODT Files A Dunedin boarding-house resident who stabbed a man to death will never…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":548719,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[3],"tags":[42,43,40,38,41,39],"class_list":["post-548718","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-headlines","tag-headlines","tag-news","tag-top-news","tag-top-stories","tag-topnews","tag-topstories"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/548718","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=548718"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/548718\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/548719"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=548718"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=548718"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=548718"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}