Raped girl's mother blames herself

This man raped and stabbed a 14-year-old girl in her own home.

A mother's grief and guilt poured out yesterday as she spoke of finding her teenage daughter close to death after a brutal stabbing and rape.

"I blame myself that I didn't keep my child safe. I have said sorry to my daughter many times," said the mother of five, who came to New Zealand with her family three years ago.

Police say the mother saved her daughter's life after hearing her cries for help.

The 14-year-old later told her mother she had nearly stopped breathing moments before her parents found her in a reserve behind their home in Hill Park, Manurewa.

The girl had been thrown over a fence and down the 3m drop by the rapist after he attacked her in the early hours of New Year's Eve.

Police believe the intruder broke in to burgle the house and picked up a knife while inside.

He entered the girl's bedroom and found her asleep.

She fought back by kicking and biting the man on the hand but he slashed at her body with the knife and stabbed her in the back, leg, torso, abdomen and throat.

The knife struck the girl's neck a few millimetres from the vital carotid artery. Police say it was 3mm away from murder.

The wound to her abdomen was 10cm deep and pierced her liver.

The man inflicted a total of 10 stab wounds before raping her. He then carried her outside and dumped her in the reserve.

Police have said they believed they would be investigating a homicide if it was not for the actions of the girl's mother.

Speaking through an interpreter, the mother said: "According to my daughter, during the time [she was in the reserve] she always hoped her mother would come and save her, and luckily this has happened.

"When she nearly stopped breathing she managed to call me. She always believed her mother always would be with her and I will always be with her."

But after saving her daughter, the mother wondered how she could go on living herself.

"As a normal mother I was devastated. I felt I don't want to live. I blame myself that I didn't keep my child safe," she said, breaking down in deep sobs.

"I have said sorry to my daughter many times. My daughter indicates that 'it wasn't your fault'. My daughter understands this is a terrible accident.

"She was very tired but she comforted me [which] made me feel worse but I never dared to cry in front of her. I tried to make her feel happy."

The mother said she was afraid that the attacker had not been caught, and wants him found.

The family would not return to their home, she said.

"I'm worried that the offender knows my daughter could be a witness. I worry about my daughter."

The woman said she wanted to thank police and hospital staff "for saving her daughter's life".

Can you help?

The girl's attacker is thought to be in his early 20s, more than 1.7m (5ft 6in) tall and of medium build.

He wore dark clothing and an orange or yellow lanyard, or cord, with a number of keys attached.

His dark clothing would have been bloodstained and he might be trying to hide the bite injury.

Freephone number: 0800 437-662.