Donna Henry was sentenced for the stabbing and death of her partner at Wellington High Court on Friday, the 27th of September.

She was originally going to be charged for murder but this was later downgraded to manslaughter as she only meant to stab him, not with intent to kill.

The judge, Justice David Boldt said that they’d been in their relationship for about 20 years. While it was often described as great, at other times it was “violent and angry”. Police had recorded 51 call outs to their property, 35 in which they considered Donna to be the victim, and the others, she and her partner were both considered mutual aggressors.

The judge has sentenced her to 12 months home detention, with conditions not to associate with any of the victims, attend trauma counseling, and attend an assessment for a women’s motivation programme.

He allowed discounts to the sentence for her guilty plea, her remorse, background of trauma and addiction, her motivation to change, and her time spent on bail.

The sentencing was downgraded largely out of concern for her children.

“We are already faced with one terrible tragedy, and my biggest challenge with sentencing Ms Henry is how to make the best of the situation we find ourselves in now,” he said.

The children would “suffer immensely” if separated from Henry, he said.

The incident happened on the 22nd of September, 2023.

Source: New Zealand Herald

28/09/24