escalating violence in our community Become a member of the Sensible Sentencing Trust

Mouseover links for full page descriptions

Offender Database Burt Rikihana

Burt Te Manu Tangiata Rikihana

Alias

.

Offences

Attmpted murder; repeatedly stabbed a sleeping 15-year-old youth in Hastings in June 2001 because he was "angry"
Burglary and assault of a Petone woman in December 2009

Victims

Paul Robertshaw

Offender Affiliations

.

Gang affiliations

none known

Age

Born 1983

Current Location

Under "supervision"

Parole/Release Dates

Sentenced to nine years in February 2002
Paroled at final release date July 2007
Sentenced to 24 months intensive supervision and 200 hours community work in May 2010

Background
From Hawkes Bay Today

A man who broke into a Hastings home and stabbed a 15-year-old youth in his bed last year was jailed for nine years today. Burt Te Manu Tangiata Rikihana appeared before Justice Chisholm in the High Court, Napier, after pleading guilty on February 4 to attempting to murder Paul Robertshaw on June 29 last year.

Police evidence revealed Rikihana, 19, unemployed, had been drinking with relatives before the attack. He became angry and left the house. He ran across the road and entered the youth’s Willowpark Road home through an unlocked door about 2am.

Rikihana took a chef’s knife from the kitchen, walked down the hallway into Paul Robertshaw’s bedroom, held the knife with both hands and stabbed him through the sheets with such force the knife came out through the youth’s back.

Rikihana did not know the youth.

Rikihana checked to see how much blood was on the knife, then threw it in the bushes outside and ran back to where he had been drinking, police said.

Rikihana had said he was aiming to stab his victim in the stomach and realised that when a person was stabbed in that area they generally died.

Speaking before sentencing today, lawyer David Madsen said Rikihana had had a tragic upbringing, as he had been physically and sexually abused for a large part of his life. He had been under the care of Social Welfare from the age of 10-17, and developed a transient lifestyle. On the night of the stabbing he was feeling angry and aggressive and he wanted to kill someone.

When he saw Paul Robertshaw asleep in his bed he saw a boy who belonged, who had a stable life, who was rich and he had nothing, Mr Madsen said.

Prosecutor Russell Collins said he acknowledged the awful upbringing Rikihana had endured, but believed it was a reason that society need to be protected from Rikihana through a long sentence.

Justice Chisholm said Rikihana’s violence had left Paul Robertshaw unable to eat for two weeks or walk for five weeks and he had still not recovered.

---

Corrections and Additional Information
We endeavour to make this database as accurate as possible, but we are at the mercy of whatever information we can find in various online and offline archives. We rely on the public - that is, people like you - to fill in the gaps that we cannot. If you wish to submit additional information or a correction to this file CLICK HERE . Privacy: Trust policy is that all sources are treated as strictly confidential unless we are explicitly told otherwise. If you wish to see a file removed from this database certain conditions must be met by the offender set out HERE Note that this does NOT apply for those that are the primary offender in a murder, rape, or any sexual offending involving minors. We do not enter into correspondence regarding the guilt/innocence of offenders. Such correspondence is not responded to, especially if the offender concerned has a number of prior convictions

Back to Top