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A man who admitted stabbing his daughter's partner 18 times pleaded guilty to a murder charge when he appeared in the High Court today.
The court was told today that Hekkenberg, 48, seemed to blame Damien Marshal Nicholson for all the things that were going wrong in his
life, before the stabbing in December 2005 at a house in St Vincent Street, Nelson.
Justice John Hansen remanded Hekkenberg in custody for pre-sentence reports and sentence on May 10, in the Christchurch High Court.
Crown prosecutor Chris Lange said 34-year-old Mr Nicholson had been in a relationship with Hekkenberg's daughter for five years. The daughter had an eight-year-old child, who Mr Nicholson treated as his son.
Hekkenberg was living in a caravan at the St Vincent Street address. He had sold the house to Mr Nicholson and his daughter in July 2004.
On December 18, Hekkenberg went to see another of his daughters, who was aware of difficulties where he was living. Hekkenberg said Mr Nicholson and his daughter wanted him to move out.
"I want to kill him," he said, referring to Mr Nicholson. "At least I would get three meals a day in prison."
Later that day, Mr Nicholson asked Hekkenberg to find other accommodation in the new year and there was an argument.
At 5pm, Hekkenberg met another daughter at the hotel where she worked. He said Mr Nicholson had "given him the boot", and told her: "I'm going to fucking kill him".
The daughter told him to calm down.
He spent the evening with a friend, where he drank beer and wine, and was offered a bed in the spare room. Late at night, he walked home and got a sledgehammer and kitchen knife from his caravan.
He went to the house and smashed the front door open. Mr Nicholson swore at him and ordered him to leave.
The two men wrestled while the daughter dialled 111. Then she heard her partner gasping for breath and saw he was going blue around the lips.
Hekkenberg left but called police an hour later and gave himself up. He told police Mr Nicholson had been "winding him up" and humiliating him for some time.
"I went there to sort him out, not to kill him," he said.
The post mortem showed Mr Nicholson had been stabbed 18 times, including one fatal wound that struck the heart.
The Nelson crown solicitor's office is still considering whether to ask for Bernard Johannas Hekkenberg to serve more than the normal minimum non-parole period for the murder.
- NZPA
