A Christchurch man who bludgeoned a carer to death with a hockey stick has been sentenced to life in prison.
Elliot Ajay Prakash, 43, was sentenced in the High Court at Christchurch today after entering a guilty plea to a charge of murder.
He admitted killing Val Heaney in a brutal attack at her home in Bromley, and will now serve a minimum non-parole period of 13 years.
The former mechanic had been boarding with Heaney for 16 months before the murder. The High Court at Christchurch heard how the relationship between the two soured after Prakash began sending his landlady death threats, and was then served with an eviction notice.
Justice Cameron Mander said Prakash had attacked Heaney from behind while she was sitting at a table.
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In the furious assault that followed, he struck Heaney's skull at least eight times with a hockey stick.
The court heard how the attack involved "extended, extreme violence" on a vulnerable woman in her own home. It had left part of her skull fractured, as well as lacerations on her hands, as she desperately attempted to block him.
The 64-year-old, who was 22 years older than her attacker, died in a pool of blood in her hallway.
"You did not desist in your attack until it must have been obvious you had taken Ms Heaney's life," the judge said.
In victim impact statements, Heaney was described as a kind and loving woman.
One of her family members, whose name has been suppressed, said caring for people was "her calling".
"She did this with great joy and satisfaction," he said.
"We've all lost a part of our future, a caring and beautiful woman who put others first."
Prakash will not be eligible for parole until 2035.
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