Auckland woman Rangimaria Sellars jailed for stabbing taxi driver in Christchurch

• Rangimaria Lisa Sellars was sentenced to three years and four months’ jail for stabbing a taxi driver.
• Judge Sanjay Patel highlighted Sellars’ history and the need to protect the public from her.
• The victim, a refugee from Afghanistan, suffered significant injuries and lost his livelihood.

An Auckland woman who repeatedly stabbed a Christchurch cabbie after revealing she couldn’t pay the fare has been sent back to jail, where she has spent much of the past 15 years.

Rangimaria Lisa Sellars, 47, had been out of prison for less than a month when she attacked the taxi driver, a refugee from Afghanistan who said he has lost his livelihood and his trust in New Zealanders.

Sellars attacked the driver after catching a cab to Christchurch Airport.

Judge Sanjay Patel noted today that Sellars appeared to be “institutionalised” and had a history of committing new offences so she could return to custody.

“That strongly brings into consideration the need to protect the public from you,” he said as Sellars stood in the dock at Manukau District Court.

“This is an example of extreme violence.”

Court documents state the attack, which resulted in six stab wounds and necessitated emergency surgery, took place inside a Toyota Prius about 10.15pm on October 10 last year in Christchurch.

Auckland woman Rangimaria Sellars appears in Manukau District Court for sentencing after admitting she stabbed a taxi driver in Christchurch. Photo / Craig Kapitan

“The victim ... had picked [up] the defendant from somewhere in the city,” the agreed summary of facts for the case states.

“Whilst en route, the defendant disclosed she did not have the money to pay for her fare.”

The driver was nearly at the airport already but pulled into the Spitfire Square carpark, across the street from the airport, to discontinue the ride. Sellars then asked to be taken to the police station.

“Using a knife she had concealed in her clothing, the defendant stabbed the victim several times,” court documents state - causing two wounds to his abdomen, two to his forearm and single wounds to his thigh and right hand.

Emergency responders help a wounded taxi driver after he was stabbed by Rangimaria Sellars in Christchurch. Photo / George Heard

The victim, who went to a nearby McDonald’s restaurant for help, had to undergo surgery almost immediately after arriving at Christchurch Hospital.

He was “covered in blood” as emergency responders carried him out of the restaurant on a stretcher, a witness previously told the Herald.

Sellars was arrested about 15 minutes after the incident at a nearby hotel. She later told police she had stabbed the stranger because he touched her leg.

But CCTV footage from inside the car makes it clear that’s not true, Christchurch-based Crown prosecutor Gail Barrett pointed out while attending the hearing via an audio-video feed.

The crime scene near Christchurch Airport after a taxi driver was stabbed by Rangimaria Sellars. Photo / George Heard

“It does show that this was an unprovoked assault on a taxi driver as a vulnerable person,” she said.

The driver, 36, did not attend today’s hearing in person and so did not read his written victim impact statement, although the judge referred to it extensively before announcing the sentence.

He told the court the victim thought he was going to die that night. He ended up spending five days in hospital with significant injuries, and could no longer do simple things for himself like cook and shower.

His abdominal wounds meant he could no longer sit for long stretches, making his job impossible.

“He says he was told he was lucky to survive this attack,” Judge Patel noted.

“By day, he thinks of someone attacking him and by night ... he dreams about somebody attacking him again.”

The victim was fortunate to have family who came to New Zealand and helped him.

“Before this incident he thought the people of Christchurch were good people, but now he has a different view,” the judge also noted.

“He says he needs to be more careful and aware of his environment.”

Sellars faced up to 14 years’ imprisonment after pleading guilty in Christchurch District Court in November to wounding with intent to cause grievous bodily harm. She entered the plea via audio-video feed from Auckland.

Blood was seen inside the Toyota Prius in which Rangimaria Sellars attacked a taxi driver with a knife near Christchurch Airport. Photo / George Heard

Today’s sentencing was then transferred to Auckland so she could attend in person.

Defence lawyer Hannah Kim acknowledged the victim hadn’t touched her client, who was sitting in the front passenger seat.

But her aggression that night was still motivated by fear due to Sellars’ traumatic past as a victim of abuse, she argued.

She pointed to a psychological report that outlines how Sellars established poor coping mechanisms in her youth that led to trouble with the law. She suffers depression, is hyper-vigilant of threats and hears voices, although she’s currently on medication to suppress the voices, the lawyer said.

She asked the judge for a starting point of between three and three-and-a-half years before allowing reductions for her guilty plea, background and remorse. She acknowledged, however, that a sentence of imprisonment was inevitable.

Rangimaria Sellars has been jailed after stabbing a taxi driver multiple times in a Christchurch carpark after announcing she couldn't pay for her fare. Photo / George Heard

The judge, however, agreed to the Crown’s suggestion of a four-and-a-half year starting point. He then allowed a 25% reduction for her very early guilty plea and 5% for her background - noting that the reduction had to be tempered by her long history of violence.

Her criminal history included common assault charges dating back to 1995, followed by assault with a stabbing instrument in 2001 and wounding with intent to cause grievous bodily harm in 2003.

Sellars had been serving a 13-year sentence when she was released on parole in 2022, but she was recalled to prison after committing new crimes and had only been released again weeks earlier. Her lawyer noted that, other than the stabbing, her more recent crimes had involved burglary and dishonesty but not violence.

Judge Patel increased her sentence by two months to reflect her criminal history, resulting in an end sentence of three years and four months’ imprisonment.

He noted that, upon her most recent release from prison, Sellars reported feeling she hadn’t “received the professional support that you needed.”

The judge ordered that the psychological report that had been prepared for the sentencing be provided to the Parole Board with the hope that measures can be taken to support her better next time.

Craig Kapitan is an Auckland-based journalist covering courts and justice. He joined the Herald in 2021 and has reported on courts since 2002 in three newsrooms in the US and New Zealand.

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