The victim was alone in her house when a group broke in, attacked her and tried to cut off her hair over a social media post which angered them. Photo / 123RF
A woman thought she was going to die during a “prolonged and terrifying attack” that included having an extension cord wrapped around her neck and being dragged around her house.
The violent home invasion happened in the early hours of the morning and involved a group of women who were angry about a social media post in which the victim claimed one of them had cheated on her partner.
At one stage during the attack, one of the women signalled for the others to stop saying, “This is my kill, this is my s**t”.
The victim eventually managed to escape and run for help.
Now, two years after the attack, one of the women involved has successfully appealed her prison sentence, getting it reduced by six months.
Rosabel Daniella Catherine Kronfeld was originally jailed for five and a half years for aggravated burglary.
Kronfeld was aged 25 and on bail when she and four other women smashed their way into the victim’s home shortly before 2.15am on August 19, 2023.
The identities of three of the other women were never established, they were only known as “Jayda”, “Twista Queen” and “Des Joyce”.
According to a recently released Court of Appeal decision, the women turned up uninvited at the victim’s home and began screaming and yelling abuse.
The victim, who was alone in the house, was woken by the noise, including the sound of a bottle smashing outside near the back door.
As the victim went to the back door, Kronfeld kicked down the front door and went inside. She approached the victim and repeatedly tried punching her in the face before letting the others in.
The group then embarked on what was described as a “prolonged and terrifying attack”, in which the victim believed she was going to die.
The court’s recounting of the facts said it began with “Twista Queen” wrapping an extension cord around the victim’s neck before dragging her around the house, impeding her breathing. At the same time, Kronfeld and the others continued to hit and taunt her.
One of the group signalled them to stop saying, “This is my kill, this is my s**t” before she grabbed the victim by the hair, and “ragdolled” her around the house.
The victim begged her to stop, but the others, including Kronfeld, resumed their attack.
One of them tried to cut the victim’s hair with scissors, while another started to record the assault on her phone.
Kronfeld went to the victim’s bedroom and tried to remove footage from a security camera, damaging $3000 worth of electronic equipment in the process.
Kronfeld then went to the kitchen, picked up a serrated bread knife and handed it to one of the other women, who began using it to strike the victim as Kronfeld held her by her hair.
The victim sustained a 4cm wound to her shoulder, just below her neck.
Once they let go of her hair, the victim managed to escape to a neighbour’s house and get help.
Kronfeld was initially charged with wounding with intent to cause grievous bodily harm, and burglary while armed with a weapon, later amended to a charge of aggravated burglary.
Her lawyer, Genevive Vear argued that the sentence was manifestly excessive.
She also said Kronfeld was entitled to the maximum available discount (25%) for the guilty plea because it was entered at the first reasonable opportunity following resolution discussions with the Crown.
The Court of Appeal did not agree. It said the Crown case was “very strong”, based on the evidence, including she had been identified by the complainant as one of the attackers and had made admissions to the police.
Justices Pheroze Jagose, Ian Gault and Christine French said in their decision while credit should have been given for background factors, the District Court sentencing judge Nick Webby was right to be sceptical over Kronfeld’s claim of remorse.
They did not consider Kronfeld was entitled to a greater discount for her prospects of rehabilitation or her remorse.
During an interval in the police interview, she was heard muttering to herself, “I’m going to go and punch [the victim] after this, f*****g bitch”.
They said Vear, was however on stronger ground in relation to background factors, including the spiral of events that led to Kronfeld losing custody of both of her children.
“What is significant is that most of Ms Kronfeld’s conviction history, including the index offending, occurred during what Ms Vear described as a dark period following the loss of both children,” Justice French said.
The higher court concluded that a 20% discount was open to the judge. It did not think Kronfeld was entitled to a greater discount for her prospects of rehabilitation or remorse, and noted she had continued to minimise her role.
In quashing the initial sentence and replacing it with a five-year prison term, the Court of Appeal said a six-month reduction was appropriate in that it recognised the seriousness of the offending while aligning with the case law.
Tracy Neal is a Nelson-based Open Justice reporter at NZME. She was previously RNZ’s regional reporter in Nelson-Marlborough and has covered general news, including court and local government for the Nelson Mail.