Couple took victim's benefit money, then they took her life

Thousands of dollars of taxpayer money was paid to a woman who, with her partner, was yesterday found guilty of the manslaughter of the intellectually disabled person in their care.

Here Teinakirai, 53, began looking after the affairs of Patricia Joseph in November 2006.

She received Ms Joseph's weekly invalids benefit until she and her partner, Joseph Proude, 47, killed her in January 2008.

Teinakirai and Proude were found guilty by a High Court jury yesterday of her manslaughter, by assaulting her and denying her the necessaries of life.

The 37-year-old was found by kayakers floating partly submerged in the Wairoa River in Clevedon on January 20, 2008.

She was naked apart from an incontinence pad, was wrapped in sheets and weighted down with an 11kg rock.

The Crown alleges she was assaulted by the couple and died in the bathroom of their Otara home. It is believed she lay dead for up to a week before her body was dumped in the river.

The jury deliberated for seven hours before returning with their verdicts.

Patricia Reade, deputy chief executive of Work and Income, last night said Ms Joseph advised the agency that she wanted Teinakirai to act as her agent.

"She was living with her at the time and said this woman was acting in her best interests. She signed the necessary documentation, and based on the information provided, Patricia instructed us to re-direct her benefit to Teinakirai."

In mid-2007 Ms Joseph reconfirmed that she wanted Teinakirai as her agent.

Ms Reade said there were robust processes around the appointment of agents. "If we have any concerns, we can decline the appointment and look at other ways of helping a client manage their benefit."

Ms Joseph's sister Debbie Joseph told the Herald the system let her sister down. "I've got some questions I want answered ... she slipped through cracks," she said.

But she blamed herself for what happened as well. Patricia lived with her until she assaulted her and then moved out of the home. She moved in with Proude and Teinakirai shortly after.

The family was relieved the trial was over and happy with the verdicts but thought the couple should have been charged with murder.

Ms Joseph's 10-year-old daughter is being cared for by her grandmother. She knows her mother is dead but not the details of how she died.

Ms Joseph's sister said she didn't have any words for the couple but would prepare a victim impact statement for when they are sentenced on May 25.

Teinakirai was also found guilty of six charges of assaulting her, three charges of assault with intent to injure and two charges of assault with a weapon, using a stick and a hose.

Proude was found guilty of five counts of assault and one of assault, using a dog as a weapon.


Patricia's path to death

She called them Mum and Dad and relied on them for almost everything - but instead of caring for her, Joseph Proude and Here Teinakirai subjected Patricia Joseph to so much abuse it eventually killed her.

Patricia came to New Zealand from the Cook Islands when she was 22. Her mother, Teinakore Joseph, had moved here years earlier, leaving her daughter at home with some "aunties".

Patricia, or "Poko", as she was affectionately known, first lived with her mother but later with her sister Debbie Joseph, when Teinakore needed a break.

The exact cause of Patricia's disability was never determined. In her mother's words: "She'd rather play with kids than with us grown-ups and do things little kids do ... she was mixed up in her mind."

She could dress herself, but Patricia struggled with other things and frequently soiled herself. In 1993 Debbie Joseph became her caregiver despite having three young children to care for.

Patricia wouldn't read or write, was prone to biting herself and didn't know "friend or foe", Debbie said.

Over the years both Debbie and Teinakore cared for her. In 1999 she gave birth to a daughter but suffered postnatal depression and spent several weeks in a psychiatric ward.

In 2006 Patricia soiled herself and a furious Debbie hit her with half a fence paling.

"As a result, I sent her to my mum's, a block away." She pleaded guilty to assault and completed nine months' community work.

It was while she was back living temporarily with her mother that she met Proude and Teinakirai, the couple whom she would move in with, and who would ultimately kill her.