Teen sentenced after assisting friend's suicide

The boy's body was not found until the morning after his death. Photo / Alan Gibson

A 17-year-old who admitted helping a young friend commit suicide in a Christchurch park has been given eight months home detention after spending four months in custody on remand in the at-risk unit at Christchurch Men's Prison.

Name suppression was refused when Dillon Gargett was sentenced in the High Court at Christchurch this morning on the rare charge of assisting suicide.

Justice Graham Panckhurst said the case was so serious it precluded a suppression order, even though Gargett had originally been charged in the Youth Court.

He also noted that the mother of 16-year-old Ben Dowdell, who had committed suicide, did not want suppression so that the case could be fully aired.

Gargett was arrested a couple of weeks after the suicide which took place in early September. His bail was then revoked because he continued committing offences, and then because of concerns about his own safety he was sent to the at-risk unit.

The court was told Gargett had been sought out for advice by Ben because it was known he had made a previous attempt on his own life. It seemed both boys had depressive illnesses.

Gargett and a group gathered for a "farewell" for Ben, the court was told.

Ben made an unsuccessful attempt on his life with Gargett's help.

The group reassembled in a park next day, and Gargett again assisted in a second attempt. Ben had made the others leave. Gargett looked back and saw what was happening but did not try to save his friend.

When Ben's father phoned that night asking about his son, Gargett did not tell him what had happened or where to find him.

That meant that the boy's body was not found until next morning.

A lot of detail about the boys' lives emerged at the sentencing, with the dead boy's mother, Debbie Close, reading an emotional victim impact statement and later saying that the family had never received an apology from Gargett.

She said her son had been unable to write because of a medical condition and had learning difficulties. He was "a good and kind soul" who was often bullied at school.

"Even when he was experiencing daily physical attacks he would still go to school with a smile on his face."

Defence counsel David Ruth said both young men had found themselves "in very distressed circumstances", but Gargett had now come to see that however deep and gloomy life seemed at the time, it could be worth living. He was regretful and remorseful about his actions.

Crown prosecutor Claire Boshier said Gargett had the opportunity to say what was happening and get help, but had not done so. There was cruelty in not telling Ben's father what had happened to his son.

Justice Panckhurst told Gargett: "Your victim was a young man who had a life before him, but for the moment could not see his way through his personal problems, and as a result was clearly in despair and it seems he was determined to take his own life.

"Anyone with a sense of judgment would have seen that his life would have improved for him."

He could not understand why Gargett had not spoken out and got help for his friend.

"I think there is something in Mr Ruth's suggestion that you were probably sought out for advice on account of your previous experience in relation to this insidious thing of youth suicide."

He imposed an eight month home detention sentence, saying he hoped that the time already spent in custody would have a lasting effect on him.

The judge ordered that Gargett undertake counselling, including psychiatric counselling, as directed, and consider going through the restorative justice process so that he could meet the victim's family face to face.

Charges in the district court of being found unlawfully in a yard and being an unlicensed driver were dealt with by convictions and discharges later in the day.

- NZPA