Upper Hutt axe attack: Accused pleads guilty

Sandra Guerin was killed following an attack in her Blueberry Grove home, in the Upper Hutt suburb of Timberlea last December. Photo / Mark Mitchell

A man has admitted murdering an Upper Hutt mother and injuring three others in an axe attack.

Retimana Te Korou Nicholls was to have gone on trial next week in the High Court in Wellington, but today appeared in the same court to change his pleas to guilty.

He admitted charges of murder, grievous bodily harm, wounding and assault. He will stay in custody until his sentencing next month and was given a warning under three-strikes legislation.

Sandra Guerin, 55, was killed following an attack in her Blueberry Grove home, in the Upper Hutt suburb of Timberlea last December.

Ms Guerin's son Thomas Guerin, 20, was also injured at the family's home, and Kane Love, 24, was attacked at a nearby property.

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Both young men were hospitalised with serious injuries as a result of the attack.

Another woman, Diane Misa, was also found injured nearby.