Rhys Hoffman was sentenced to prison after taking 10 people hostage at BNZ in Rotorua. Photo / Andrew Warner
Rhys Hoffman was sentenced to prison after taking 10 people hostage at BNZ in Rotorua. Photo / Andrew Warner
A bank employee held hostage by a man claiming to have a bomb says she spent the terrifying hour thinking of her children and “not knowing if I was going to die”.
She says the “terrible experience” has left her fearful of queuing, anxious about strange bags or packages and suffering “horrible dreams”.
The offender, Rhys Hoffman, 36, was sentenced to prison on Friday after taking 10 people hostage at Rotorua’s BNZ branch on the afternoon of November 10 last year, an incident that put shops in the area into lockdown.
His lawyer told the Rotorua District Court his actions were a “plea for help” after mental health struggles stemming from the murder of his mother nearly 11 years ago.
His victims were six bank employees and four civilians, including a 14-year-old girl and three women in their sixties.
The Rotorua Daily Post previously reported on court documents that revealed one victim escaped and Hoffman let the teen go, then one of the older women. The remaining seven were detained for 56 minutes as Hoffman’s demeanour fluctuated from angry and ranting to upset and apologising, while he negotiated with police.
Two victims were present in court for his sentencing and another victim attended virtually.
In a victim impact statement read out to the court by Crown solicitor Amanda Gordon, a bank employee described Hoffman as a “selfish man”.
She wrote she was the first employee to greet Hoffman when he entered the bank.
“I honestly thought there was a high probability of us dying,” her statement said.
Armed police surrounded the Rotorua BNZ bank branch on Amohau St on November 10, 2022 after Rhys Hoffman held 10 people hostage. Photo / Andrew Warner
She wrote that all she could think of were her two children and whether she was going home to them or if she was going to be killed.
“What you did to me, this terrible experience, will be with me forever.”
She could no longer stand in queues because she was “very worried” about who was behind her. She also gives any bags or packages she cannot identify “a wide berth”.
“My brain now tells me there may be a bomb inside it. In public places I am now hyper-aware and anxious of who is around me.
“I have horrible dreams, nightmares about that day. I would have preferred a robbery instead of not knowing if I was going to die for a whole hour.”
The woman’s statement said her children did not want her to go back to work.
“For a brief period of time, I felt sorry for you. [But] you are a grown man. You are not the victim here. Your hostages and their families are.”
Judge Edwin Peraniko Paul quoted from three victim impact statements during the sentencing.
“One of your victims said this: ‘I was left absolutely traumatised. I have never been so scared and the thought of my children and grandchildren losing me this way felt awful.’ That victim did not feel comfortable enough to return to work and ultimately had to leave her employment,” Judge Paul said.
Judge Paul said another victim wrote of needing ongoing psychological help and suffering recurring nightmares.
“The victims believed their lives were in grave danger due to your words and actions,” Judge Paul said.
“Some of your victims believed they were going to die that day. They believed you had a bomb and you were capable of using it.”
Armed police around Rotorua's BNZ bank branch on the day of Rhys Hoffman's offending. Photo / Andrew Warner
Crown solicitor Amanda Gordon said the effect of Hoffman’s offending on his victims was the “most significant aggravating factor in this case”.
Gordon accepted that Hoffman’s mental health was a mitigating factor in sentencing.
“Mr Hoffman is remorseful and has been from the outset,” Gordon said.
Appearing for Hoffman, defence lawyer Andrew Schulze said while the effect of Hoffman’s actions on his victims was “egregious”, Hoffman’s actions were a “plea for help”.
“He had sought the help of the police both here and in Hamilton,” Schulze said.
Schulze said in terms of violence, Hoffman’s offending was “at the lower end of the continuum”.
Judge Paul said in sentencing he took into account the “profound” impact and psychological harm Hoffman had inflicted on his victims, the disruptions to the community and the significant police resources that were called to the situation.
“You believed two gang members were after you. You believed your life was in jeopardy. You chose to go to the bank because you knew the police would turn up if you went there.”
Judge Paul said Hoffman had 10 previous convictions and was previously treated at the Henry Rongomau Bennett Centre in Hamilton for “various diagnoses” including post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), antisocial personality disorder and methamphetamine and cannabis disorder.
“Ironically you will know more than anyone else how that [PTSD] must affect one of your victims who as a result of your actions has suffered that very same disorder.”
Judge Paul said he acknowledged that Hoffman had experienced “traumatic and frankly life-changing events” both in childhood and adulthood.
“Your mother was taken from you as a result of a homicide where you were required to identify her mutilated body.”
Judge Paul discounted Hoffman’s sentence for his mental health problems and participation in the restorative justice process.
“You offered an apology which she accepted but told you she could not forgive you.”
Hoffman had previously pleaded guilty to representative charges of unlawfully detaining and threatening grievous bodily harm. A representative charge means it happened more than once.
Judge Paul sentenced him to two years and two months in prison on each charge, to be served concurrently.
Rhys Hoffman’s mother was Rotorua woman Michelle Hoffman-Tamm - a woman savagely murdered by her lover nearly 11 years ago.
Hoffman-Tamm was stabbed 33 times, had her throat slit and her ears cut off, with one being stuffed in her mouth.
Her killer turned on her after a night of drinking and sex in a rage after suspecting Hoffman-Tamm had stolen $20 from her wallet.
Gwenda Leigh Sloane, aka Pluss, 44, was sentenced in February 2013 to life in prison with a minimum non-parole of 17 years after pleading guilty to murdering Hoffman-Tamm.
Gwenda Sloane, pictured, murdered her lover Michelle Hoffman-Tamm. Photo / Stephen Parker
Hoffman-Tamm, 51, disappeared on November 7, 2012 after leaving her Philip St, Rotorua home to visit Sloane. Police found her body on November 23 in a forested area just off State Highway 38 near Murupara.
Court documents revealed at the time the two women had been friends for more than 20 years and were having a casual sexual relationship.
About 11pm on November 7, Sloane sent Hoffman-Tamm a text message saying, “hello my little monkey want to have some fun”. They drank alcohol and slept together at Sloane’s Holland St home.
Sloane told police at the time she “lost it” when she thought Hoffman-Tamm had taken $20 from her wallet.
After the frenzied attack, Hoffman-Tamm’s body lay on her kitchen floor for more than a day before Sloane buried it in a ditch near Murupara.
Rhys Hoffman, who was 25 at the time of Sloane’s sentencing, said in his victim impact statement he was struggling to cope with what happened to his mother.
Rhys Hoffman speaks to the Rotorua Daily Post in February 2013. Photo / Stephen Parker
“I have lost all trust in the world and I understand when people say they have lost everything and it’s gut-wrenching,” he said at the time. “I never got to make up for all the times I wasn’t there for my mum.”
Kelly Makiha is a senior journalist who has reported for the Rotorua Daily Post for more than 25 years, covering mainly police, court, human interest and social issues.
