The inquest into the violent death of a Christchurch woman, who was murdered outside her Sockburn home by a forensic mental health patient, begins today.
Mother of four, Laisa Waka Tunidau was fatally stabbed four years ago, after she got off a bus on her way home from work. Her 11-year-old son witnessed the attack unfold, watching through the window of their home.
The killing took place in June 2022, Later that year, Zakariye Mohamed Hussein, a patient at secure mental health facility Hillmorton Hospital, was jailed for life with a minimum non-parole period of 13 years. He had previously served more than six years in prison for kidnapping, stabbing and intimidating multiple people across Christchurch in March 2012.
At the High Court sentencing her family spoke of the immense grief of losing a wife and mother in such a horrific way. Her husband, Nemani Tunidau, said their lives had been left in tatters.
"Everything we struggled for to build a good life has been shattered. My children are often sad and emotional. I won't ever forget telling my children that they have lost their mother."
Daughter of a woman murdered by a mental health patient last year says the report "confirms a very broken mental health system". (Source: 1News)
Justice Cameron Mander said Tunidau "did nothing to provoke the attack, nor could she do anything to prevent it.... It was a case of being in the wrong place at the wrong time".
The brutal killing sparked a major review of Canterbury's Mental Health Service.
Ahead of the inquest, Health NZ executive national director of mental health and addiction Phil Grady acknowledged the start of the proceedings, offering the organisation's condolences to Tunidau's family.
"We recognise the significant loss and grief experienced by Laisa's family and that this pain continues. We express our sincere condolences to them," he said.
Grady said Health NZ had taken the tragedy extremely seriously and was progressing a comprehensive programme of service improvements across Canterbury's adult inpatient and associated mental health services.
"[This is] informed by Dr John Crawshaw's Section 99 report, and overseen by a senior leadership steering group," he said. "The programme includes initiatives focused on workforce capability and support, clinical governance, frontline leadership, staff engagement, and partnerships with iwi and mana whenua to support the development of key cultural roles. The safety of patients, staff and the public remains our highest priority."
Grady said Health NZ was committed to assisting the coronial process.
"The purpose of the Coronial process is to determine the circumstances that led to Laisa's death, and we are committed to assisting this process in any way possible. We are continuing to support our staff involved in the proceedings."
He said the organisation wanted to learn from the tragedy.
"We are committed to learning from this tragedy to ensure it doesn't happen again and to continuing to improve our services for the people who rely on them," Grady said.
"We would like to acknowledge that this may be a challenging and emotional time for many current and former staff members, particularly for those who were directly or indirectly involved in the events under review. We encourage anyone to reach out and access support early if they find themselves affected by the proceedings."
The first phase of the inquest is set down for a week. Sixteen witnesses, including nurses and psychiatrists who treated Hussein at Hillmorton Hospital, will give evidence. Many of them have been granted suppression.
Another week has been scheduled to hear further evidence in November.
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