Dunedin Countdown stabbing: Luke Lambert jailed 13 years for frenzied knife attack at supermarket

Luke James Lambert appears for sentencing in the High Court at Dunedin today. Photo / Gregor Richardson / Otago Daily Times

A man who went on a stabbing spree in a Dunedin supermarket has been jailed for 13 years for an attack that "shocked the nation".

Luke James Lambert pleaded guilty to four counts of attempting murder following the "frenzied and persistent" attack on May 10 last year and was sentenced in the High Court at Dunedin this afternoon by Justice Jonathan Eaton.

Luke James Lambert appears for sentencing in the High Court at Dunedin today. Photo / Gregor Richardson / Otago Daily Times

The judge said it was "violence on a scale rarely seen in New Zealand" and imposed a minimum non-parole period of six and a-half years' prison.

Vanessa Miller-Andrews described the moment she saw her partner Jorge Fuenzalida in dire trouble.

"There was blood everywhere, there was blood pouring out of him like a fountain," she said.

The Cumberland St Countdown in Dunedin Central the afternoon of the attack. Photo / Peter McIntosh

"Luke is a dangerous man and needs to be off the streets for the safety of the public. I'm concerned when he's released he'll have another day and history will repeat itself."

Another victim, a staff member who was granted permanent name suppression, was stabbed just half an hour from the end of her shift and was now scarred for life.

"The thing that really gets me is the offender singled me out – a woman; a woman with my back turned . . . completely vulnerable. He didn't choose a man his size, he chose me," she said.

The woman, though, said she pitied Lambert.

"I just hope you get the help that you need. But I'm not angry at you, and I forgive you," she said.

Fuenzalida spoke of the helplessness he felt after being incapacitated by Lambert.

"I recalled you stabbing my neck repeatedly, I'm pleading with you to stop but you wouldn't," he said.

Countdown senior manager Dallas Wilson and his two sons. He was stabbed four times in the attack and spoke to the Herald today. Photo / Supplied

"I could see in your eyes it wasn't registering. I could see in your face that you wanted to kill me. You were on a mission to kill people that day and I was at your mercy."

Lambert first entered Countdown Dunedin Central shortly after midday and tried to buy two cans of beer but his card declined.

An associate saw him in the Octagon "agitated and pacing around" and he claimed he was not being given his medication - a suggestion refuted by subsequent enquiries by police.

"Someone is going to get it," the defendant said.

At 2.30pm he returned to the supermarket and grabbed a multi-pack of 7cm knives from the shelves.

Arming himself with two of them, he walked to the pharmacy aisle and began the stabbing frenzy.

Lambert first targeted a Countdown staff member who was price-checking shelves, slashing her from earlobe to chin and pushing her to the floor.

He continued the attack, inflicting wounds to the woman's arms as she shielded her face.

One of the store's senior managers, Dallas Wilson pulled Lambert away and held him from behind but the man reached backwards to stab him three times, including one injury in the victim's pelvis that was so deep it struck bone.

Fuenzalida, who had also intervened, ended up on the floor and his partner Ms Miller-Andrews rushed to his aid.

But before she got to him, the defendant stabbed her twice in the back.

Lambert then alternated between the couple, inflicting further wounds as they fought desperately to protect one another.

The bloody spree only ended when police, staff and members of the public waded in to restrain him.

Justice Eaton said the CCTV of the incident made it "abundantly clear" that had it not been for the interventions of the victims and those who provided first aid, the attack would have been fatal.

The question remained: why did he do it?

Several people reported Lambert speaking about witches in the immediate aftermath and he told one person that they had told him to "make a blood bath".

Later, the defendant said he could not remember his actions, had no suicidal idea and no views on witches.

He told Probation that the death of his mother in 2018 and the subsequent deaths of his dogs was a significant turning point in his life.

"Ultimately it's just not possible to make a determinative finding as to the motivation for this offending," said Justice Eaton.

"Your offending shocked the nation . . . that no one was killed was miraculous."

Defence counsel John Westgate accepted there was a degree of premeditation in attacking the first victim but that the other attacks were "just a reactive man out of control".

That characterisation was not accepted by the judge, who said he had no doubt there would have been more injuries or potentially deaths had the man not been stopped.

Westgate stressed Lambert, who had no violence convictions, was suffering from severe mental-health issues at the time of the events.

Westgate said the violence was not personal.

"On that day he snapped . . . he was at a crisis point," he said.

"We hope today's sentencing provides some comfort for our Dunedin team

Following the sentencing, Southern District Commander Superintendent Paul Basham said he'd like to recognise Countdown staff and members of the public who intervened.

Police forensics staff are observed inside the Dunedin Central Countdown after the alleged attempted murder of four people. Photo / Supplied

"They all went above and beyond in what was an extremely fast-moving situation," he said.

While the Countdown is located right next to the police station, Basham said the actions of Countdown staff and members of the public were crucial until emergency service help arrived.

"I am extremely proud of the efforts of everyone who helped to de-escalate the situation and minimise any further harm," Superintendent Basham says.

Last year's incident at the Dunedin store affected staff up and down the country, Countdown's Director of Health and Safety Kiri Hannifin said.

Hannifin who is relieved the legal process is now finished said she hopes the sentencing will provide comfort.

"We hope today's sentencing provides some comfort for our Dunedin team as they continue to work through the ongoing impact of what was an incredibly traumatic event for them.

"We will continue to support them as they do this."