Neighbour Anthony Hepi testified at the trial that he was doing some washing that day when he heard arguing<\/a> coming from the backyard.<\/p>\n Moments later, Hepi told jurors, Robson came running with blood \u201cp***ing out of his neck\u201d.<\/p>\n \u201cSome b**** stabbed me,\u201d he recalled the victim yelling. <\/p>\n Robson died at the scene. An autopsy revealed the knife went more than 9cm into his neck<\/a>, damaging multiple blood vessels and causing major blood loss.<\/p>\n Justice MacGillivray said there was evidence at trial that the two had a \u201cloving relationship\u201d, although they argued at times, and there was evidence that Robson had been violent on at least one occasion two months earlier.<\/p>\n On that occasion, Green had sent texts to a friend noting that Robson had given her a black eye. <\/p>\n But when the friend expressed distress over the revelation, Green told her to calm down, explaining she had been attacking Robson when he head-butted her rather than hitting her with a closed fist. <\/p>\n Another witness at trial said Robson had been violent towards her in the past. <\/p>\n On the morning of the stabbing, the two clearly got into an argument but it was not clear what it was about, the judge said. <\/p>\n Green told some witnesses she had become angry because Robson was talking down to her. She told another she had objected to her partner expecting her to watch his toddler son. <\/p>\n Green\u2019s accounts to witnesses about what happened next varied from Robson approaching her, to him kicking her in the face, to both hitting each other. <\/p>\n The argument was violent, but the judge said he was unsure to what extent. <\/p>\n \u201cThe jury\u2019s rejection of self-defence shows that you were not facing a level of violence that justified the use of the knife,\u201d the judge said. <\/p>\n \u201cUsing the knife against Mr Robson was excessive and unjustified.\u201d<\/p>\n But the jury\u2019s verdict, after three days of deliberations<\/a>, also made it clear that Green did not intend to cause death or appreciate that it might occur. <\/p>\n To make sense of what occurred, the judge said, it was important to consider her history and mental health at the time of the crime. <\/p>\n A report prepared for the court before sentencing said Green suffered an \u201cunsettled childhood\u201d that included physical and emotional abuse when she was put into state care aged 9. <\/p>\n Her mother introduced her to cannabis at age 12 and methamphetamine at 13, the court was told. <\/p>\n She was later expelled from school and, at 17, her mother introduced her to escort work. <\/p>\n As an adult, she was in a number of relationships in which she was regularly subjected to violence and suffered serious injuries, the judge noted. <\/p>\n In 2018, she was hospitalised with a traumatic brain injury during one such toxic long-term relationship. <\/p>\n The past abuse caused complex post-traumatic stress disorder, which a psychiatrist explained can result in difficulty regulating emotional responses to situations<\/a>, as well as reactive and impulsive behaviour. <\/p>\n AUT lecturer Rachel Smith, an expert on family violence and trauma, noted women in situations such as Green\u2019s may respond to isolated incidents as if responding to the cumulative experience of past violence. <\/p>\n Justice MacGillivray rejected the defence suggestion that the homicide was an example of \u201cexcessive self-defence\u201d. <\/p>\n But he did agree Green lashed out at her partner in a dysregulated and impulsive act caused by PTSD and the \u201ccumulative experiences of past violence\u201d against her. <\/p>\n \u201cThere is no evidential foundation for concluding your relationship with Mr Robson was one of coercive control,\u201d he said. <\/p>\n Grief, forgiveness<\/p>\n Robson was remembered by his large family this week as someone with a wicked, sometimes dark sense of humour, an interest in passing on family heritage to the younger generation and a hard worker who prioritised looking after those he loved. <\/p>\nSelwyn Robson was stabbed to death by his partner, who was convicted of manslaughter. <\/p>\n
A homicide investigation was launched after the death of Selwyn Robson in Manurewa.<\/p>\n
Margaret Green appears for sentencing for manslaughter in the High Court at Auckland. Photo \/ Alyse Wright <\/p>\n