Clayton Rd murder: Rotorua's Nicholas Roling to spend life in prison for killing Jeremy Ngatai

Nicholas Martin Roling, 54, was sentenced for murdering Jeremy Russell Ngatai in the High Court at Rotorua this morning. Photo / Andrew Warner

A "jealous and possessive" ex-lover who shot and killed his former girlfriend's new partner has been sentenced to life in prison.

Sobs and cheers rose from the public gallery as Nicholas Martin Roling, 54, was sentenced by Justice Timothy Brewer in the High Court at Rotorua for the murder of Jeremy Russell Ngatai, 39.

Roling was sentenced to life imprisonment and will serve a minimum of 11 years in jail.

He was arraigned and pleaded guilty last month to the murder that happened in June last year.

Family of Ngatai cheered, sobbed and yelled in the public gallery as the sentence was handed down.

Crown prosecutor Anna McConachy described Roling as a "jealous and possessive former partner that was unable to accept that the relationship had ended".

She said the incident was clearly "pre-meditated" as Roling spent up to 90 minutes waiting behind a hedge for Ngatai and his ex-partner Annalise Brown before killing him.

Roling had been in an "on-again, off-again" relationship with Brown for about three years, according to the summary of facts provided to the Rotorua Daily Post.

Their relationship ended in 2017 and shortly after, Brown began a relationship with Ngatai.

Roling had always resented Brown for ending their relationship and did not like Ngatai because of this, it said.

Following their split, Roling had led a "transient lifestyle" moving from town to town but always tried to maintain contact with Brown by texting her or Ngatai or visiting her son Ryan Walsh and asking about her, it said.

On June 16, 2019, Roling arrived at Walsh's address on Alison St having come down from Kaikohe, to do some mechanical work on a vehicle and stayed there for his time in Rotorua.

Just after 6pm on June 26, he left the address on foot and walked to Brown and Ngatai's address on Clayton Rd.

He took with him a "sawn-off" side-by-side 12-gauge shotgun, the summary said.

As he neared the address, he walked down the side of the neighbouring property and lay in wait behind a large hedged fence, it said.

An overgrown raised garden ran alongside the hedge fence.

At some stage within the hour and a half, Roling loaded two rounds into the firearm, it said.

Meanwhile, at about 7.40pm, Ngatai and Brown arrived home after completing their grocery shopping.

Nicholas Martin Roling was sentenced to life imprisonment by Justice Timothy Brewer for murdering Jeremy Russell Ngatai last year. Photo / File

Brown entered the house to get some keys to move another vehicle which was parked outside, it said. As she returned outside, she passed Ngatai near the front door as he was about to walk inside with groceries.

While this was happening, Roling stepped up on to the raised garden and upon seeing Ngatai at the doorway, he lifted the shotgun and fired one round into Ngatai's back, it said.

Roling was heard saying "that'll teach you" after the shot was fired.

Brown quickly spun around and saw Ngatai begin to stagger. She looked towards where she heard the gunshot come from and saw the defendant standing on the other side of the hedged fence.

She grabbed Ngatai as he started to fall and helped him to the ground where she attempted first-aid. However, Ngatai died at the scene as a result of the gunshot wound.

Roling hid the firearm in the hedge near where he had been standing with a round still loaded in the firearm, it said.

He made his way back to the Alison St address and Brown phoned her son to tell him what had happened, anticipating that Roling would head back to his address, it said.

Walsh met Roling at the front gate to stop him coming on to the property and asked him what he had done, it said.

He told Roling he was not welcome there, but Roling ignored him and tried to walk on to the property.

A tussle between Walsh and Roling began, with Walsh getting him down on the ground and restrained before police arrived, it said.

Ngatai died from a single gunshot wound to the back. Roling declined to provide any comments on the incident to police.

Justice Brewer told Roling that he will spend the rest of his life in prison, which set off another commotion in the public gallery.

He said that he had received 16 victim impact statements and the murder had a "devastating" effect on both the whānau and friends of Ngatai.

He said Ngatai was a "much-loved and much-needed" son, partner, nephew, uncle, cousin and brother.

"I can't give back what you've taken."

The judge said Roling had intended to shoot Ngatai and had "ambushed" him while he was unarmed.

There were a number of factors put forward by Roling's lawyer Andy Schulze including that Roling had been diagnosed with a psychiatric disorder, Justice Brewer said, however he would "not put much weight" on those factors.