Logan Maru-Mohi has been made subject to a compulsory treatment order as a hospital inpatient. Photo / 123RF
A patient on a mental health ward pushed another resident in the chest, causing him to fall backwards and suffer a fatal injury when he hit his head on the ground.
A day earlier, Logan James Karena Maru-Mohi had returned to the ward from leave under the influence of cannabis – a substance which triggers his symptoms of schizophrenia.
His victim, Douglas Tobin, 75, died three weeks after the assault.
Maru-Mohi, 23, has since pleaded guilty to a charge of manslaughter.
Instead of being sentenced for that, he has been made subject to a compulsory treatment order under mental health legislation, as an inpatient in a special unit at Wellington Regional Hospital.
Maru-Mohi had been in custody since December last year.
On the evening of Boxing Day, he returned to the Te Whare Ahuru Mental Health Ward at Hutt Hospital after being allowed out on leave.
The following day, he was acting aggressively, smashing a phone and a set of headphones.
Hospital staff gave him medication but this did not calm his behaviour.
About 2pm on December 27, Maru-Mohi came out of his room and saw Tobin standing in a common area, fiddling with his jumper.
Maru-Mohi stared intently at the elderly man and a staff member asked him to step back, concerned about the situation escalating.
But Maru-Mohi instead stepped forward and pushed Tobin in the chest, using both his arms.
Tobin took no action to defend himself. He was thrown into the air and fell backwards, hitting the back of his head.
Tobin was given immediate medical attention and underwent surgery, but did not survive the injury.
He died on January 19 from complications of blunt force trauma to the head, a skull fracture and brain injury.
Maru-Mohi was charged with manslaughter, pleaded guilty, and appeared in the High Court at Wellington last week, before Justice Helen McQueen, for sentence.
Justice McQueen acknowledged victim impact statements from Tobin’s wife, who was in the court, and his daughter.
“They express their distress that Mr Tobin was not safe in hospital,” the judge said.
“They also highlight the impact on them and the wider family of the loss of Mr Tobin and the grief his family now carries.
“No sentence that I can impose today can make up for that loss.”
Justice McQueen had earlier given a sentencing indication which was calculated from a starting point of two and a half years in prison, with reductions for Maru-Mohi’s youth, mental health issues and if he made a guilty plea.
She said it became clear that Maru-Mohi’s end sentence would be under two years, meaning a non-custodial sentence of intensive supervision would be available to him.
However, a psychiatrist provided a report that said Maru-Mohi’s “intermittently abnormal state of mind” posed a danger to others.
Maru-Mohi, who has been diagnosed with schizophrenia, has a history of aggressive behaviour, as evidenced by his behaviour towards Tobin.
The Community Probation Service also said it was unlikely to be able to oversee rehabilitation, as programme providers often will not work with people who have complex health needs combined with addiction issues, due to the risk to other participants.
A further report from the psychiatrist included the opinion that Maru-Mohi remained mentally disordered and should be subject to a compulsory treatment order.
The psychiatrist said this would be in Maru-Mohi’s best interests and would “improve the safety of the public”.
Justice McQueen also noted that if she were to sentence Maru-Mohi to prison, he would be eligible for immediate release because of the time he had already spent in custody.
Instead of passing sentence for the manslaughter conviction, Justice McQueen made a compulsory treatment order under the Mental Health (Compulsory Assessment and Treatment) Act 1992.
Maru-Mohi will be an inpatient at Te Whare o Matairangi mental health service at Wellington Regional Hospital.
He agreed to the order being made.
Ric Stevens spent many years working for the former New Zealand Press Association news agency, including as a political reporter at Parliament, before holding senior positions at various daily newspapers. He joined NZME’s Open Justice team in 2022 and is based in Hawke’s Bay. His writing in the crime and justice sphere is informed by four years of frontline experience as a probation officer.