Bay of Plenty Times
  • Bay of Plenty Times home
  • Latest news
  • Business
  • Opinion
  • Lifestyle
  • Property
  • Sport
  • Video
  • Death notices
  • Classifieds

Subscriptions

  • Herald Premium
  • Viva Premium
  • The Listener
  • BusinessDesk

Sections

  • Latest news
  • On The Up
  • Business
  • Opinion
  • Lifestyle
  • Property
    • All Property
    • Residential property listings
  • Rural
    • All Rural
    • Dairy farming
    • Sheep & beef farming
    • Horticulture
    • Animal health
    • Rural business
    • Rural life
    • Rural technology
  • Sport

Locations

  • Coromandel & Hauraki
  • Katikati
  • Tauranga
  • Mount Maunganui
  • Pāpāmoa
  • Te Puke
  • Whakatāne
  • Rotorua

Media

  • Video
  • Photo galleries
  • Today's Paper - E-Editions
  • Photo sales
  • Classifieds

Weather

  • Thames
  • Tauranga
  • Whakatāne
  • Rotorua

NZME Network

  • Advertise with NZME
  • OneRoof
  • Driven Car Guide
  • BusinessDesk
  • Newstalk ZB
  • Sunlive
  • ZM
  • The Hits
  • Coast
  • Radio Hauraki
  • The Alternative Commentary Collective
  • Gold
  • Flava
  • iHeart Radio
  • Hokonui
  • Radio Wanaka
  • iHeartCountry New Zealand
  • Restaurant Hub
  • NZME Events

SubscribeSign In
Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.
Home / Bay of Plenty Times

Toddler found hidden under blanket next to beaten mother Marie Harlick, court hears

Jared Savage
By Jared Savage
Investigative Journalist·NZ Herald·
31 Oct, 2017 05:01 AM4 mins to read

Subscribe to listen

Access to Herald Premium articles require a Premium subscription. Subscribe now to listen.
Already a subscriber?  Sign in here

Listening to articles is free for open-access content—explore other articles or learn more about text-to-speech.
‌
Save

    Share this article

Marie Rose Harlick died after a 20-minute assault by Robert Roupere Hohua. Photo / Alan Gibson

Marie Rose Harlick died after a 20-minute assault by Robert Roupere Hohua. Photo / Alan Gibson

A toddler was found hidden under a blanket beside her dead mother by police responding to a 111 call.

The harrowing discovery of the 19-month-old girl was recalled by one of the officers giving evidence at the trial of Robert Roupere Hohua in the High Court at Tauranga.

Hohua has admitted killing his partner, Marie Rose Harlick, in November 2016 but denied a charge of murder.

Senior Constable David Robison, with 20 years' experience in the police, was one of the first two officers to arrive at the Wellington St property in Opotiki.

He saw a man peering out the window, identified in court as Hohua, who then recoiled quickly when he saw the police uniforms.

Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.
Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.

Robison jumped over the fence and ran around to the back of house, firing a Taser when Hohua ignored a warning to stop.

Hohua was arrested but as he was taken to the patrol car, Robison said he asked if police could lock the front door as "no one" was in the address.

Another officer, Constable Hamish MacDonald, noticed blood on Hohua.

Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.

"I saw blood on his shorts, T-shirt ... [Hohua] said he had a blood nose," MacDonald told the court.

"I shone the torch on his face, there was no blood at all from his nostrils."

On realising the blood did not belong to Hohua, MacDonald alerted Robison who ran into the house.

He noticed a pool of blood in the dining room area, then searched room to room calling out to anyone who might be home.

Discover more

New Zealand

Accused killer claimed victim 'sleeping'

30 Oct 10:41 PM
New Zealand

Red flags failed murdered mum, baby

24 Nov 04:00 PM
New Zealand|crime

Marie Harlick's killer jailed for at least 17 years

12 Dec 09:00 PM
New Zealand

Marie Harlick's killer 'looked me in the eye'

13 Dec 12:30 AM

The door to a bedroom was closed, so Robison opened it. He saw Marie Harlick lying on her back on a mattress, which was on the floor.

She was covered up to her neck with a blanket, which Robison pulled back.

"There was a child lying next to her," said the officer in a wavering voice. "The child looked up to me."

He picked up the girl, Vivienne, who is the 19-month-old daughter of Harlick, and put her in a cot.

The court had previously heard the toddler had been strapped in her stroller during the fatal assault. Neighbours had also heard her crying.

Harlick had no pulse and her right eye was swollen shut with bruising, said Robison.

Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.

By this time another officer, Constable Kevin Gread, had arrived and started CPR while Robison grabbed a first aid kit from his patrol car.

The pair tried to resuscitate Harlick for "what seemed like forever", but was no more than 10 minutes, until a St John ambulance officer arrived.

Mark McVey, the ambulance officer, attached a defibrillator to Harlick but there were no signs of life.

Earlier in the second day of the trial, the jury heard from a neighbour who heard a loud "bang" coming from the house.

Rosalie Hall went to check on Harlick, whom she had recently been spending some time with, and started to enter the Wellington St property.

The dog started barking and before she could unlock the front gate, Hall said Hohua came outside for what was an awkward conversation.

Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.

"I said to him 'I'm just coming in to see Marie', he said 'nah bro, she's asleep'."

Hall said Hohua seemed agitated.

"He just seemed a bit scary to me ... I don't know how to explain it, I just didn't feel comfortable, I felt a bit scared."

She said the police arrived about 30 minutes later, following two 111 calls from a teenage witness who was at another neighbour's house.

He and his friend both told the jury they heard "loud stomping noises" and Hohua yelling "get up before I kill you".

Neither can be identified because of their ages.

Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.

A post-mortem examination revealed a long list of injuries inflicted during the assault including bruises, cuts and fractures to both sides of her jaw.

The fatal injury was a ruptured artery which led to significant internal bleeding.

Hohua accepts he is guilty of manslaughter, his lawyer Gene Tomlinson previously told the jury, but the Crown had to prove "murderous intent".

"The real issue is did he know, consciously, what he was doing was likely to kill her? Your job is not to hold him to account. Your job is to decide what was in his mind."

Save

    Share this article

Latest from Bay of Plenty Times

Bay of Plenty Times

'Unsustainable': After-hours medical service to be overhauled

30 Jun 06:03 PM
Bay of Plenty Times

Gin made by tiny Thames distillery crowned world's best at global awards

30 Jun 06:00 PM
Bay of Plenty Times

'Mistakes' lead to higher rates rise for Western Bay

30 Jun 05:00 AM

There’s more to Hawai‘i than beaches and buffets – here’s how to see it differently

sponsored
Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.

Latest from Bay of Plenty Times

'Unsustainable': After-hours medical service to be overhauled

'Unsustainable': After-hours medical service to be overhauled

30 Jun 06:03 PM

A GP brand that left the rostered service says clinicians were doing 11-hour days.

Gin made by tiny Thames distillery crowned world's best at global awards

Gin made by tiny Thames distillery crowned world's best at global awards

30 Jun 06:00 PM
'Mistakes' lead to higher rates rise for Western Bay

'Mistakes' lead to higher rates rise for Western Bay

30 Jun 05:00 AM
Former town crier's latest theatrical turn

Former town crier's latest theatrical turn

30 Jun 04:23 AM
From early mornings to easy living
sponsored

From early mornings to easy living

NZ Herald
  • About NZ Herald
  • Meet the journalists
  • Newsletters
  • Classifieds
  • Help & support
  • Contact us
  • House rules
  • Privacy Policy
  • Terms of use
  • Competition terms & conditions
  • Our use of AI
Subscriber Services
  • Bay of Plenty Times e-edition
  • Manage your print subscription
  • Manage your digital subscription
  • Subscribe to Herald Premium
  • Subscribe to the Bay of Plenty Times
  • Gift a subscription
  • Subscriber FAQs
  • Subscription terms & conditions
  • Promotions and subscriber benefits
NZME Network
  • Bay of Plenty Times
  • The New Zealand Herald
  • The Northland Age
  • The Northern Advocate
  • Waikato Herald
  • Rotorua Daily Post
  • Hawke's Bay Today
  • Whanganui Chronicle
  • Viva
  • NZ Listener
  • Newstalk ZB
  • BusinessDesk
  • OneRoof
  • Driven Car Guide
  • iHeart Radio
  • Restaurant Hub
NZME
  • About NZME
  • NZME careers
  • Advertise with NZME
  • Digital self-service advertising
  • Book your classified ad
  • Photo sales
  • NZME Events
  • © Copyright 2025 NZME Publishing Limited
TOP