Girl aged 15 gets life for murder

By TONY WALL

A 15-year-old girl has begun a life sentence for the frenzied killing of a middle-aged man. She is thought to be the youngest female convicted of murder in New Zealand.

Natalie Fenton, just 12 days past her 15th birthday when she repeatedly stabbed Papatoetoe engineer Raymond Mullins with one of his own steak knives, was found guilty in the High Court at Auckland yesterday.

The Herald can reveal that Fenton, with a string of serious convictions, was on bail for aggravated robbery at the time of the murder last April 1.

Her elder sister Katrina, now 20, and friend Daniella Bowman, 18, both also from Otara, were also convicted of murder for their part in the slaying.

Justice Chambers sentenced all three to life imprisonment.

Natalie Fenton has been in social welfare secure facilities in Christchurch, Palmerston North and Weymouth since her arrest, and has now been sent to Mt Eden Women's Prison.

Staff there will assess her and determine where she should spend her sentence. She has escaped from custody before.

Her lawyer, Peter Kaye, said it was likely Fenton would be sent to Christchurch Women's Prison or the Kingslea Home in that city.

"There are facilities available, but invariably they seem to be at a distance from friends and family, so that the young person gets completely isolated."

Mr Kaye said Fenton, who stood impassively in the dock as the verdict was read, was in a state of deep shock afterwards.

Justice Chambers recommended that the Department of Corrections have Fenton examined to establish if she was suffering post-traumatic stress disorder as a result of sexual abuse, as suggested by a psychiatrist for the defence.

If that was the case, she should receive appropriate medical and psychiatric care.

Mr Mullins' siblings and his adult daughter, Leanne, broke down in tears as the verdicts were read and were jubilant afterwards.

His sister Beryl Smith, over from Sydney for the trial, said the three girls were evil.

"If you had seen Ray in the morgue [he had 19 stab wounds to the abdomen], you would have sat through the trial every day, too. What they did to him was absolutely horrific," she told the Herald.

Another sister, Yvonne Holden, said: "What they said about him wasn't true. He was not a rapist or a child molester. He was a nice, caring, lovable person. It was his caring that got him murdered."

A brother, Ken Mullins, said he felt sorry for Bowman, who had told the truth since the start and had been less involved than the Fenton sisters.

Fenton and Bowman family members who were hoping for manslaughter convictions broke down when the murder verdicts came through. One man had to be restrained and swore repeatedly.

Relatives huddled outside the court afterwards for a karakia (prayer).

The most infamous case of murder by mid-teen girls in New Zealand involved Juliet Hulme and Pauline Parker, who were aged 15 years and 8 months and 16 respectively when they murdered Parker's mother in Christchurch in 1954.