Widow speaks at killer's sentencing

The widow of the man killed by a gang prospect told the court how driving her children to school every day past the place he was stabbed was "like a knife being twisted in our hearts".

Hulio Henry Ataria, 23, was today sentenced to life imprisonment with a minimum non-parole period of 11-1/2 years for fatally stabbing Mark McCutcheon, 34, outside the Sandford Arms Hotel at Ongaonga, Hawke's Bay, on January 23 last year.

Mr McCutcheon had intervened as an associate of Ataria assaulted a woman in the carpark, and pulled a shotgun case out of his ute before Ataria stabbed him three times. Mr McCutcheon tried to drive home after the attack, but bled to death behind the wheel of his ute, from a stab wound to his heart.

Ataria claimed at trial he had acted in self-defence, but a jury found him guilty of murder after deliberating for four hours.

Mr McCutcheon's widow, Paula McCutcheon, today told the High Court in Napier of the devastation Ataria had brought to her life.

"Mark, a loving husband, awesome father to his three girls, adored son, brother, loved uncle, respected son-in-law, loyal mate, respected member of the community and successful businessman - murdered.

"All of Mark's clothes and shoes are still in the wardrobe, his toothbrush is still in the bathroom, his ashes sit at the end of my bed as that is the only way he is still here with us," she said in her victim impact statement.

"To get my children to school we have to drive past the paddock where Mark came to rest in, and the pub he was stabbed outside Every day it is like a knife being twisted in our hearts."

Mrs McCutcheon said it had been awful telling her daughters their father was dead.

"How do you explain to two happy seven and four-year-olds that the daddy that they love and adore has been killed by another man, without using words that will scare and give them nightmares for the rest of their lives; and as for our youngest daughter, she will never know her dad, a dad that loved her so much."

Her husband's death also meant the loss of the family's income. He had run a successful agricultural contracting business.

"Without Mark, there was no longer Mark McCutcheon Ag and Silage, no longer did his business have the knowledge, strength or personality it needed to operate. Along with Mark, our family business and our means of living was taken. The contracting was our life and provided us with income.

"The day I had to auction Mark's business it felt like Mark was being taken away from us all over again. He loved his tractors, he gave them all their own personalities and he had a great deal of respect for them. Watching Mark's babies driving down the road wrenched at what was left of my heart."

Sentencing Ataria, Justice Alan Mackenzie noted he had 21 previous convictions since 2002, including two for violence.

Aggravating features of the attack were that Ataria was carrying a knife in the first place, whether or not he intended to use it for killing sheep or anything else.

"Your use of it in this situation has had a fatal consequence".

Another aggravating factor was that Ataria, who had had "an association" with the Mongrel Mob for most of his life, was a gang prospect.

"Your involvement came about because of your position as a gang prospect," Justice Mackenzie said.

"Your risk of re-offending is high, and you have not expressed a great deal of remorse."

As Ataria was escorted from the courtroom his mother leaned forward in the public gallery mouthing "I love you, I love you". He waved and gave her the three-fingered Mob salute.

- NZPA