Mongrel Mob partner death: Foxton woman Jade Oldridge sent to prison after community sentence breaches

Jade Arohanui Oldridge, 26, at her sentencing in the High Court at Wellington in relation to the death of her partner, Dean Kahukiwa, (inset) in September 2023. Photo / Catherine Hutton

A woman who received a community sentence after asking her uncle to “smash” her Mongrel Mob partner, and he was instead shot dead, was warned that any issues of non-compliance risked her being sent to jail.

But Jade Arohanui Oldridge took the risk, refused to comply, and instead went on the run.

On Friday, she appeared in the High Court at Wellington for resentencing, during which Justice Karen Grau noted her compliance with the community sentence that she had imposed in September had been “pretty much a fail from the word go”.

“It’s a pretty sad day for me today and sad for you, Ms Oldridge, and your whānau,” Justice Grau said at the start of the hearing.

Oldridge had been ordered to serve six months’ community detention with a nightly curfew, coupled with 24 months’ intensive supervision, after admitting one charge of injuring with intent to injure, in relation to the death of her partner, Dean Kahukiwa.

Kahukiwa, 32, was shot five times in his home at Foxton, Horowhenua, in September 2023 in retribution for allegedly beating Oldridge.

His body was not found until nine days later, when firefighters were called to a fire at the Reeve St house. Five people, including Oldridge, were sentenced in relation to the death.

Oldridge’s texts to her aunt asking her uncle, William Hines, to “smash this c***”, triggered a series of events that ultimately led to her partner’s death.

Dean Kahukiwa, 32, was shot five times in his home in Foxton, Horowhenua.

At September’s sentencing, Justice Grau accepted that in sending the texts, Oldridge had sought to have her partner beaten up, in retaliation for the alleged domestic violence. But she didn’t expect him to be seriously injured or killed.

The judge imposed the community-based sentence, saying she didn’t want to send the young, first-time offender to jail. But warned that any issues of non-compliance would result in prison.

On Friday, the court heard that Oldridge’s non-compliance began shortly after the sentence was imposed and escalated to “nearly daily breaches”.

Within months, Corrections had applied to cancel the order and charged her for the alleged breaches.

Oldridge was supposed to be resentenced in February but failed to show up.

Since her arrest this month, she has been held in custody ahead of her resentencing.

Oldridge’s lawyer, Tavia Moore, accepted that a community-based sentence was no longer an option.

She said her client experienced a lot of anxiety and stress around what had happened and hadn’t engaged with the support that was available to her.

“She knows now that she didn’t do the best she could have with the opportunities that were made available to her,” Moore said.

Moore said her client was also struggling to process what had happened to her partner and was grieving for him.

Corrections lawyer Daniel Becker sought to cancel the sentences of community detention and intensive supervision, asking the judge to substitute them with a sentence of imprisonment.

Justice Grau cancelled the sentence of intensive supervision and ordered that Oldridge serve 14 months’ jail, saying she would be automatically released after serving half.

The judge concluded the hearing by again telling Oldridge how sad she felt at having to send her to prison.

“I hope you get some assistance and rehabilitation, and, when you leave prison, you can put all this behind you and work towards a better life,” she said.

Catherine Hutton is an Open Justice reporter, based in Wellington. She has worked as a journalist at the Waikato Times and RNZ. Most recently, she was working as a media adviser at the Ministry of Justice.