Just three months before Sahara Baker-Koro was found dead in her Napier home, Kerry Ratana had assured a judge he would turn his life around.
In September last year the then 24-year-old appeared for sentence in Wanganui District Court on charges of disorderly behaviour likely to cause violence and breaching community work.
The pair travelled to Wanganui for the sentencing only months after relocating to Napier.
During the hearing, Judge John Clapham spoke to Ratana's partner, who was seated in the public gallery. "Tell him what you need ... you know better than me".
She stood, looked at Ratana and urged him to change for himself, said she loved him and wanted their family to have a decent life.
"You can do it, I know you can. Please do it for us," she pleaded.
Wiping away tears, Ratana quietly replied, "Yeah, I'll do it".
Judge Clapham told him to put his best foot forward before convicting and discharging him without penalty.
"I want you to write to me in 12 months and tell me how wonderful your life is," the judge said.
Have a wonderful life, judge urged
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