Life in jail for murdering flatmate

A grieving man told a long-time friend in court he may never forgive him for betraying and murdering his brother, but will do his best to forget him.

Alastair Manua Te Arianiwa Don, 35, was sentenced to life imprisonment, and will not be eligible for parole for 10 years, in the High Court at Palmerston North yesterday for murdering Roger Min Chin in Ō taki last year.

Lester Chin, his body tense and voice strained, looked straight at Don as he made his victim impact statement to the court.

Their families were close, and he had known his brother’s killer for 30 years before Don betrayed all of that in one senseless and violent act, he said. ‘‘Roger didn’t deserve to have his life taken ... [and] taken by someone I considered a friend ... he took you in when noone else would,’’ Lester Chin said.

Don needed somewhere to live as the level 4 lockdown loomed in March last year, so Chin let him move into his place.

Lester Chin said his brother wasn’t perfect, but he was kind and if he could help someone he did so without hesitation.

His murder caused untold grief for his family, made worse when they were kept apart by the pandemic.

Most of his family lived in Australia and it was over a year before a proper funeral could be held for Chin. Everybody had to live with what Don had done, Lester Chin said.

‘‘Your mana will never be the same, to anyone who knows you Alastair ... [and] you will have to remember this for the rest of your life.

‘‘I will remember Roger, but I will try to forget you.’’

Don lived with Chin and his flatmate at their Mill Rd home in Ō taki for almost three months.

Judge Christine Grice said tensions grew between Don and the other two over his heavy drug and alcohol use.

Don also breached the coronavirus lockdown rules, at least twice, by doing nonessential travel.

On May 16, last year, Chin came home from his usual 5am till 2pm shift at a service station and had a meal with Don.

Grice said the two men had been arguing again and when Chin went for a nap, Don slipped into his room and hit him twice in the head with a hammer as he slept.

The force of the blows fractured Chin’s skull and jaw and caused his brain to bleed.

Don left, and it wasn’t until the flatmate heard Chin’s laboured breathing later that evening that an ambulance was called.

On the first day of his jury trial in May Don pleaded guilty, and defence lawyer Simon Hewson asked for a psychiatric report to assess his fitness to stand trial.

Grice said the reports identified issues that had a significant impact on Don’s mental stability, and warning signs of a developing disorder.

However, Don did not currently have a definable mental illness and nothing in the report suggested he was not fully responsible for his actions, she said.