The second phase of an inquest into the death of Laisa Waka Tunidau has heard that her killer, Hillmorton Hospital patient Zakariye Mohamed Hussein, made threats against then-Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern less than a year before the murder. Hussein was on unescorted leave from Hillmorton Hospital when he stabbed the mother-of-four outside her home on 25 June 2022.
Hussein was jailed for life with a 13-year non-parole period in November 2022 for the murder. He had previously been sentenced to more than six years for kidnapping, stabbing and intimidating people across Christchurch in March 2012.
The inquest before Coroner Alexandra Cunninghame resumed on Wednesday, hearing from a psychiatrist who treated Hussein between 2015 and 2022. The clinician told the court that in late 2021, Hussein wrote several letters that were intercepted by the hospital's clinical team. The letters contained multiple conspiracy theories, references to terrorist attacks including the 2019 mosque shootings, and threats against then-Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern and her family.
The psychiatrist referred the case to New Zealand's Fixated Threat Assessment Centre (FTAC), a cross-agency partnership between police, parliament and the Ministry of Health that manages risks from people fixated on public figures. The clinician said Hussein at that time was experiencing “florid paranoid psychosis” and posed a significant risk that had extended to public figures. However, they contrasted this with the months before the murder, when Hussein was presenting with “transient paranoid sort of thoughts” that the clinician did not think were psychotic in nature and colleagues' notes did not describe as psychotic.
Lawyer for Waka Tunidau's family, Nikki Pender, asked the psychiatrist whether additional leadership roles they had taken on had taken them away from their core duties. The clinician admitted it partially took a toll, saying they were "there less" and that paperwork had fallen behind.
Earlier on Wednesday, the inquest heard that Hussein had gone to locations without permission while on unescorted community leave on 6 June and 10 June 2022, weeks before the murder. More than 20 doctors, psychologists, psychiatrists and nurses involved in Hussein's care are due to give evidence. The clinician will resume their testimony on Thursday.
Analysis
Why This Matters
- The case raises questions about the safety of community leave for high-risk psychiatric patients and the adequacy of risk assessments by mental health services.
- The threat against a former prime minister highlights a potential failure in the system to act on warnings about a patient's dangerousness to public figures.
- The murder of a mother-of-four has already led to a life sentence, but the inquest may determine whether systemic changes are needed to prevent similar tragedies.
Background
The inquest into the death of Laisa Waka Tunidau is being held before Coroner Alexandra Cunninghame in Christchurch. It is the second phase of the inquest. Zakariye Mohamed Hussein, a patient at Hillmorton Hospital, was on unescorted leave when he stabbed Tunidau on 25 June 2022. He was sentenced to life imprisonment with a minimum of 13 years later that year. Hussein had a history of violence, including a previous sentence for kidnapping and stabbing in 2012. The Fixated Threat Assessment Centre (FTAC) is a New Zealand cross-agency unit that manages risks from people fixated on public figures. Hussein's threats against Jacinda Ardern were reported to FTAC in early 2022.
What to Watch
- The psychiatrist's testimony is expected to continue on Thursday, with more details about the clinical team's decisions.
- Further evidence from over 20 doctors, psychologists, and nurses may reveal gaps in communication or oversight.
- The inquest's findings could lead to recommendations for changes in the management of high-risk psychiatric patients on leave.
Checked
12 claims in this story checked against 1 source: 12 supported.
Show each claim
- SupportedThe inquest heard that Hillmorton patient Zakariye Mohamed Hussein made threats against the prime minister less than a year before murdering a woman.RNZ New Zealand Headlines: “A patient of Christchurch's Hillmorton Hospital made a threat against the prime minister less than a year before he murdered a mother-of-four, an inquest has heard.”
- SupportedHussein stabbed Laisa Waka Tunidau, a mother-of-four, outside her home on 25 June 2022 while on unescorted leave.RNZ New Zealand Headlines: “Laisa Waka Tunidau was stabbed to death by Zakariye Mohamed Hussein outside her Sockburn home on 25 June 2022, while Hussein was on unescorted leave .”
- SupportedHussein was jailed for life with a 13-year non-parole period in November 2022.RNZ New Zealand Headlines: “Hussein was jailed for life, with a 13-year non-parole period, in November that year”
- SupportedHussein had previously been jailed for more than six years for kidnapping, stabbing and intimidating people across Christchurch in March 2012.RNZ New Zealand Headlines: “and had previously been jailed for more than six years for kidnapping, stabbing and intimidating people across Christchurch in March 2012.”
- SupportedThe second phase of the inquest resumed in Christchurch on Wednesday before Coroner Alexandra Cunninghame.RNZ New Zealand Headlines: “The second phase of an inquest into Waka Tunidau's death resumed in Christchurch on Wednesday before Coroner Alexandra Cunninghame.”
- SupportedA psychiatrist who treated Hussein from 2015 to 2022 testified about several late-2021 letters intercepted by the hospital's clinical team, which included threats against Ardern and her family.RNZ New Zealand Headlines: “The court heard the letters - intercepted by Hillmorton's clinical team - referenced multiple conspiracy theories, terror attacks in New Zealand and Australia, including the 2019 mosque shootings, and threats against then-Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern and her family.”
- SupportedThe Fixated Threat Assessment Centre is a cross-agency partnership between police, parliament and the Ministry of Health that manages risks from people fixated on public figures.RNZ New Zealand Headlines: “The FTAC is a cross-agency partnership between police, parliament and the Ministry of Health, which aims to manage risks posed by people who display fixations on public figures or causes.”
- SupportedThe clinician said Hussein was experiencing “florid paranoid psychosis” and posed a significant risk that had extended to public figures.RNZ New Zealand Headlines: “The clinician told the court Hussein during this period was experiencing "florid paranoid psychosis" and posed a significant risk which had extended to public figures.”
- SupportedThe clinician contrasted that with Hussein's pre-murder “transient paranoid sort of thoughts”, which they did not consider psychotic and colleagues' notes did not describe as psychotic.RNZ New Zealand Headlines: “The key thing is that I contrast that with a presentation that was completely different through those periods of time when he was experiencing what we describe as sort of transient paranoid sort of thoughts about people being a snitch or that I didn't think was psychotic in nature and that my colleagues from their notes don't describe as being psychotic in nature.”
- SupportedThe clinician said their additional leadership roles took a partial toll, leaving them “there less” and behind on paperwork.RNZ New Zealand Headlines: “The clinician admitted it partially took a toll. Lawyer for Waka Tunidau's family, Nikki Pender. RNZ / Nate McKinnon "I think I was a very hands-on, on the floor involved psychiatrist and I continued to be that, but I think I was there less.”
- SupportedHussein went to locations without permission while on unescorted community leave on 6 and 10 June 2022.RNZ New Zealand Headlines: “Earlier in the day it was revealed Hussein went to locations without permission while on unescorted community leave on 6 June and 10 June 2022.”
- SupportedMore than 20 doctors, psychologists, psychiatrists and nurses involved in Hussein's care were due to give evidence.RNZ New Zealand Headlines: “More than 20 doctors, psychologists, psychiatrists and nurses involved in Hussein's care were due to give evidence during the inquest.”