Supermarket assault victim rejects chance to meet her assailant

Lucy Knight is now home.

Good Samaritan Lucy Knight does not want to meet the youth who assaulted her, leaving her with a brain injury that required the removal of part of her skull.

The mother of six was at Northcote's Countdown supermarket in September when she saw a youth trying to steal another woman's handbag. Ms Knight, 43, intervened and the youth assaulted her, causing her to fall and suffer serious head injuries.

She had emergency surgery during which a section of her skull was removed to ease pressure on her brain. The bone was only recently reinserted.

Ms Knight said yesterday that police spoke to her about the possibility of meeting her attacker several weeks ago. He has pleaded guilty to the assault. As part of the court process, a victim is often given the opportunity to meet the offender.

But Ms Knight said she would not be meeting the teenager responsible for her injuries.

"It's not going to happen," she said. "We just decided we're not comfortable with it at this stage."

She was too upset to speak further about the court case, as she and husband Peter Thomas were in the midst of planning his mother's funeral.

Mary Thomas, 84, died on Saturday night. Mrs Thomas was the wife of the late Fred Thomas, a North Shore politician and lawyer.

Ms Knight said her family were "very upset" by Mrs Thomas' death. Her funeral will be held in Takapuna today.

Mr Thomas paid tribute to his mother on Facebook, where he said she would be missed "hugely by Lucy, our kids, our wonderful large families and all those who knew her. Thank you all for your thoughts and prayers".

Ms Knight spent several weeks in a brain injury rehabilitation facility after she was discharged from Auckland City Hospital. Mr Thomas said his wife was making good progress, but still had a lot of bruising and pain. She tired easily and needed regular rest, but was eager to get back to her normal life.

After the assault a fundraising page for Ms Knight brought in $270,000 in donations from the public.