NZ Herald
  • Home
  • Latest news
  • Herald NOW
  • Video
  • New Zealand
  • Sport
  • World
  • Business
  • Entertainment
  • Podcasts
  • Quizzes
  • Opinion
  • Lifestyle
  • Travel
  • Viva
  • Weather

Subscriptions

  • Herald Premium
  • Viva Premium
  • The Listener
  • BusinessDesk

Sections

  • Latest news
  • New Zealand
    • All New Zealand
    • Crime
    • Politics
    • Education
    • Open Justice
    • Scam Update
  • Herald NOW
  • On The Up
  • World
    • All World
    • Australia
    • Asia
    • UK
    • United States
    • Middle East
    • Europe
    • Pacific
  • Business
    • All Business
    • MarketsSharesCurrencyCommoditiesStock TakesCrypto
    • Markets with Madison
    • Media Insider
    • Business analysis
    • Personal financeKiwiSaverInterest ratesTaxInvestment
    • EconomyInflationGDPOfficial cash rateEmployment
    • Small business
    • Business reportsMood of the BoardroomProject AucklandSustainable business and financeCapital markets reportAgribusiness reportInfrastructure reportDynamic business
    • Deloitte Top 200 Awards
    • CompaniesAged CareAgribusinessAirlinesBanking and financeConstructionEnergyFreight and logisticsHealthcareManufacturingMedia and MarketingRetailTelecommunicationsTourism
  • Opinion
    • All Opinion
    • Analysis
    • Editorials
    • Business analysis
    • Premium opinion
    • Letters to the editor
  • Politics
  • Sport
    • All Sport
    • OlympicsParalympics
    • RugbySuper RugbyNPCAll BlacksBlack FernsRugby sevensSchool rugby
    • CricketBlack CapsWhite Ferns
    • Racing
    • NetballSilver Ferns
    • LeagueWarriorsNRL
    • FootballWellington PhoenixAuckland FCAll WhitesFootball FernsEnglish Premier League
    • GolfNZ Open
    • MotorsportFormula 1
    • Boxing
    • UFC
    • BasketballNBABreakersTall BlacksTall Ferns
    • Tennis
    • Cycling
    • Athletics
    • SailingAmerica's CupSailGP
    • Rowing
  • Lifestyle
    • All Lifestyle
    • Viva - Food, fashion & beauty
    • Society Insider
    • Royals
    • Sex & relationships
    • Food & drinkRecipesRecipe collectionsRestaurant reviewsRestaurant bookings
    • Health & wellbeing
    • Fashion & beauty
    • Pets & animals
    • The Selection - Shop the trendsShop fashionShop beautyShop entertainmentShop giftsShop home & living
    • Milford's Investing Place
  • Entertainment
    • All Entertainment
    • TV
    • MoviesMovie reviews
    • MusicMusic reviews
    • BooksBook reviews
    • Culture
    • ReviewsBook reviewsMovie reviewsMusic reviewsRestaurant reviews
  • Travel
    • All Travel
    • News
    • New ZealandNorthlandAucklandWellingtonCanterburyOtago / QueenstownNelson-TasmanBest NZ beaches
    • International travelAustraliaPacific IslandsEuropeUKUSAAfricaAsia
    • Rail holidays
    • Cruise holidays
    • Ski holidays
    • Luxury travel
    • Adventure travel
  • Kāhu Māori news
  • Environment
    • All Environment
    • Our Green Future
  • Talanoa Pacific news
  • Property
    • All Property
    • Property Insider
    • Interest rates tracker
    • Residential property listings
    • Commercial property listings
  • Health
  • Technology
    • All Technology
    • AI
    • Social media
  • Rural
    • All Rural
    • Dairy farming
    • Sheep & beef farming
    • Horticulture
    • Animal health
    • Rural business
    • Rural life
    • Rural technology
    • Opinion
    • Audio & podcasts
  • Weather forecasts
    • All Weather forecasts
    • Kaitaia
    • Whangārei
    • Dargaville
    • Auckland
    • Thames
    • Tauranga
    • Hamilton
    • Whakatāne
    • Rotorua
    • Tokoroa
    • Te Kuiti
    • Taumaranui
    • Taupō
    • Gisborne
    • New Plymouth
    • Napier
    • Hastings
    • Dannevirke
    • Whanganui
    • Palmerston North
    • Levin
    • Paraparaumu
    • Masterton
    • Wellington
    • Motueka
    • Nelson
    • Blenheim
    • Westport
    • Reefton
    • Kaikōura
    • Greymouth
    • Hokitika
    • Christchurch
    • Ashburton
    • Timaru
    • Wānaka
    • Oamaru
    • Queenstown
    • Dunedin
    • Gore
    • Invercargill
  • Meet the journalists
  • Promotions & competitions
  • OneRoof property listings
  • Driven car news

Puzzles & Quizzes

  • Puzzles
    • All Puzzles
    • Sudoku
    • Code Cracker
    • Crosswords
    • Cryptic crossword
    • Wordsearch
  • Quizzes
    • All Quizzes
    • Morning quiz
    • Afternoon quiz
    • Sports quiz

Regions

  • Northland
    • All Northland
    • Far North
    • Kaitaia
    • Kerikeri
    • Kaikohe
    • Bay of Islands
    • Whangarei
    • Dargaville
    • Kaipara
    • Mangawhai
  • Auckland
  • Waikato
    • All Waikato
    • Hamilton
    • Coromandel & Hauraki
    • Matamata & Piako
    • Cambridge
    • Te Awamutu
    • Tokoroa & South Waikato
    • Taupō & Tūrangi
  • Bay of Plenty
    • All Bay of Plenty
    • Katikati
    • Tauranga
    • Mount Maunganui
    • Pāpāmoa
    • Te Puke
    • Whakatāne
  • Rotorua
  • Hawke's Bay
    • All Hawke's Bay
    • Napier
    • Hastings
    • Havelock North
    • Central Hawke's Bay
    • Wairoa
  • Taranaki
    • All Taranaki
    • Stratford
    • New Plymouth
    • Hāwera
  • Manawatū - Whanganui
    • All Manawatū - Whanganui
    • Whanganui
    • Palmerston North
    • Manawatū
    • Tararua
    • Horowhenua
  • Wellington
    • All Wellington
    • Kapiti
    • Wairarapa
    • Upper Hutt
    • Lower Hutt
  • Nelson & Tasman
    • All Nelson & Tasman
    • Motueka
    • Nelson
    • Tasman
  • Marlborough
  • West Coast
  • Canterbury
    • All Canterbury
    • Kaikōura
    • Christchurch
    • Ashburton
    • Timaru
  • Otago
    • All Otago
    • Oamaru
    • Dunedin
    • Balclutha
    • Alexandra
    • Queenstown
    • Wanaka
  • Southland
    • All Southland
    • Invercargill
    • Gore
    • Stewart Island
  • Gisborne

Media

  • Video
    • All Video
    • NZ news video
    • Herald NOW
    • Business news video
    • Politics news video
    • Sport video
    • World news video
    • Lifestyle video
    • Entertainment video
    • Travel video
    • Markets with Madison
    • Kea Kids news
  • Podcasts
    • All Podcasts
    • The Front Page
    • On the Tiles
    • Ask me Anything
    • The Little Things
  • Cartoons
  • Photo galleries
  • Today's Paper - E-editions
  • Photo sales
  • Classifieds

NZME Network

  • Advertise with NZME
  • OneRoof
  • Driven Car Guide
  • BusinessDesk
  • Newstalk ZB
  • Sunlive
  • ZM
  • The Hits
  • Coast
  • Radio Hauraki
  • The Alternative Commentary Collective
  • Gold
  • Flava
  • iHeart Radio
  • Hokonui
  • Radio Wanaka
  • iHeartCountry New Zealand
  • Restaurant Hub
  • NZME Events

SubscribeSign In
Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.
Home / New Zealand

Talented musician ended own life after bludgeoning flatmate

Natalie Akoorie
By Natalie Akoorie
Open Justice multimedia journalist, Waikato·NZ Herald·
25 May, 2022 06:10 PM5 mins to read

Subscribe to listen

Access to Herald Premium articles require a Premium subscription. Subscribe now to listen.
Already a subscriber?  Sign in here

Listening to articles is free for open-access content—explore other articles or learn more about text-to-speech.
‌
Save

    Share this article

Our Prime Minister talks gun reform in the US, rising gang tensions continue in Auckland and how guidelines around school uniforms could change in the latest New Zealand Herald headlines. Video / NZ Herald

WARNING: This story deals with suicide and may be distressing.

An Auckland musician bludgeoned his flatmate with a cast-iron skillet moments before taking his own life.

The death of Phillip William Dryson, 42, early on September 22, 2018, has been determined as self-inflicted by Coroner Bruce Hesketh in a decision released publicly today.

Hesketh said the beginning of Dryson's assault on his flatmate, who has name suppression, was overheard by a mental health crisis worker who was on the phone to the woman when Dryson's behaviour escalated.

Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.
Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.

"The staff member records hearing incoherent shouting in the background and the female on the phone yelling 'Oh my God no'.

"There was then the sound of crashing noises and more yelling before the phone cut off."

The call taker immediately phoned 111. The scuffle they overheard was the flatmate trying to stop Dryson leaving the apartment carrying a backpack and a hammer.

Dryson, who had been depressed that afternoon and began acting aggressively after washing down several sleeping pills with alcohol, reacted by running and jumping head first through the open kitchen window.

Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.

Dryson's flatmate managed to pull him back in the window even though the upper half of his body was outside.

Once back inside the woman closed the window and tried to call 111.

"As she did that, Mr Dryson picked up a bread knife and started trying to stab her with it," the Coroner wrote.

"He did this several times but was not able to cause her any injury with the knife as it was blunt-nosed and had blunt edges."

Dryson dropped the knife and picked up a solid, cast-iron frypan about 30 centimetres in diameter, Hesketh said.

"He began hitting his flatmate with the frypan around her head. She suffered cuts to her head as a result.

"She went back to the kitchen window, opened it and screamed out for help."

The woman ran outside and called 111. She then got into the car of a passerby who noticed she had blood on her face.

He had heard the commotion above and also rang 111. Moments later Dryson took his own life. The manner in which he died cannot be reported.

The woman was later critical of the Auckland District Health Board saying its mental health services failed Dryson.

Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.

She was critical of the mental health crisis alert system, which works by a call taker passing on the caller's details to an urgent response worker who then phones the caller.

But Hesketh disagreed. He said the caller could ring 111 in the first instance if they wanted.

He said though Dryson had suffered mental health problems since he was 15, he was not at the time a committed patient.

Dryson came to the attention of Auckland DHB after an arrest on February 14 that year for possession of an offensive weapon when members of the public became concerned about his behaviour on Karangahape Rd.

He was carrying a knife and hammer that day, kicked over a rubbish bin and was acting aggressively toward others.

The same day, Dryson posted on social media he was going to kill someone for entertainment.

Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.

He was diagnosed with having a brief psychotic episode on the background of major depressive disorder caused suddenly by stress and alcohol use.

Such episodes are known to occur in people with autism, the coroner was told, and Dryson was given this diagnosis. His psychiatrist also said he presented as a man with schizoid personality traits.

Dryson had been under the care of a private psychiatrist since 1993 when he began suffering symptoms of depression and obsessive behaviour.

He had been prescribed various antipsychotic drugs since then, as well as lithium.

In 2013 his then girlfriend notified Auckland DHB mental health services Dryson was having "violent fantasies" and carrying around a hammer for comfort but she gave no further details and Dryson was not admitted.

In 2018 he moved in with the flatmate he would go on to assault, after being assessed by ADHB following his February 14 arrest.

Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.

The following month the flatmate rang mental health services worried about Dryson's risk of self-harm.

Hesketh said Dryson went on to attend seven group therapy sessions aimed at tackling mental health issues but did not attend two the month before he died.

On the night of his death Dryson took an excess of a hypnotic and sedative sleeping tablet and drank alcohol with it.

His flatmate told Open Justice she did not believe Dryson had schizoid personality traits.

"Sufferers of schizoid personality disorder are typically defined as people who have a severely limited ability to make social connections.

"Hundreds of people came to Phill's funeral - it was overflowing - people had to stand in the car park.

Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.

"We had messages from all over the world, including travellers from the US, who met him at random, and said he was a 'big part of what made our first night in New Zealand so unforgettable'."

Dryson's photo was kept on the bar at his local pub for almost two years, she said.

"Phill was well-loved by his community. He was an incredible musician, and he was a lovely friend to have.

"Phill was entirely failed by a dysfunctional and severely underfunded mental health system."

WHERE TO GET HELP
• Lifeline: 0800 543 354 (available 24/7)
• Suicide Crisis Helpline: 0508 828 865 (0508 TAUTOKO) (available 24/7)
• Youth services: (06) 3555 906
• Youthline: 0800 376 633
• What's Up: 0800 942 8787 (11am to 11pm)
• Depression helpline: 0800 111 757 (available 24/7)
• Rainbow Youth: (09) 376 4155
• Helpline: 1737
If it is an emergency and you feel like you or someone else is at risk, call 111

Save

    Share this article

Latest from New Zealand

New ZealandUpdated

Brazen hammer heist: Police hunt jewel thief, staff distressed after store raid

05 Jul 05:11 AM
New Zealand

Teen claims Air NZ ghosts her after storm-diverted plane lands at ‘dead’ US airport at 2am

05 Jul 04:40 AM
New Zealand

Afternoon quiz: What is the main cause of coral bleaching?

05 Jul 03:57 AM

There’s more to Hawai‘i than beaches and buffets – here’s how to see it differently

sponsored
Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.

Latest from New Zealand

Brazen hammer heist: Police hunt jewel thief, staff distressed after store raid

Brazen hammer heist: Police hunt jewel thief, staff distressed after store raid

05 Jul 05:11 AM

Alleged thief struck before 1pm and after the robbery fled the scene in a vehicle.

Teen claims Air NZ ghosts her after storm-diverted plane lands at ‘dead’ US airport at 2am

Teen claims Air NZ ghosts her after storm-diverted plane lands at ‘dead’ US airport at 2am

05 Jul 04:40 AM
Afternoon quiz: What is the main cause of coral bleaching?

Afternoon quiz: What is the main cause of coral bleaching?

05 Jul 03:57 AM
Boatie takes speedboat out during PioPio and Te Kūiti flood

Boatie takes speedboat out during PioPio and Te Kūiti flood

From early mornings to easy living
sponsored

From early mornings to easy living

NZ Herald
  • About NZ Herald
  • Meet the journalists
  • Newsletters
  • Classifieds
  • Help & support
  • Contact us
  • House rules
  • Privacy Policy
  • Terms of use
  • Competition terms & conditions
  • Our use of AI
Subscriber Services
  • NZ Herald e-editions
  • Daily puzzles & quizzes
  • Manage your digital subscription
  • Manage your print subscription
  • Subscribe to the NZ Herald newspaper
  • Subscribe to Herald Premium
  • Gift a subscription
  • Subscriber FAQs
  • Subscription terms & conditions
  • Promotions and subscriber benefits
NZME Network
  • The New Zealand Herald
  • The Northland Age
  • The Northern Advocate
  • Waikato Herald
  • Bay of Plenty Times
  • Rotorua Daily Post
  • Hawke's Bay Today
  • Whanganui Chronicle
  • Viva
  • NZ Listener
  • Newstalk ZB
  • BusinessDesk
  • OneRoof
  • Driven Car Guide
  • iHeart Radio
  • Restaurant Hub
NZME
  • About NZME
  • NZME careers
  • Advertise with NZME
  • Digital self-service advertising
  • Book your classified ad
  • Photo sales
  • NZME Events
  • © Copyright 2025 NZME Publishing Limited
TOP