Eli Epiha who admitted murdering police officer Matthew Hunt has been sentenced to one of the longest minimum non-parole periods imposed in New Zealand's legal history.
Eli Epiha at his sentencing in the High Court in Auckland. Photo: RNZ / Marika Khabazi
Epiha was sentenced to 27 years in jail, when he appeared in the High Court in Auckland this morning.
At his trial in July he pleaded guilty to killing Hunt and was also found guilty of the attempted murder of officer David Goldfinch.
The sentence means Epiha now goes to fourth equal on the list of New Zealand men who have received the longest jail terms in recent history.
He received the same sentence as Russell John Tully who was responsible for the fatal shooting of two women and the attempted murder of another woman in the Ashburton Work and Income office in September 2014.
Russell John Tully at the Court of Appeal. Photo: Pool / Stuff
RNZ takes a look at some of the longest prison sentences handed down for murder prior to today.
Brenton Tarrant
The Australian pleaded guilty to 51 charges of murder, 40 of attempted murder and one charge of engaging in a terrorist act over the mosque attacks in Christchurch on 15 March 2019. He is the first person to be sentenced to life imprisonment without parole.
William Bell
William Bell was responsible for the murders of three people - and the wounding of a fourth - at the Mount Wellington-Panmure RSA in December 2001. He was sentenced to life imprisonment with a minimum non-parole period of 33 years, which was reduced to 30 on appeal.
Paul Wilson
Paul Wilson - who changed his name to Paul Tainui - admitted raping and murdering Nicole Marie Tuxford in her Christchurch home in April 2018. He was sentenced to life imprisonment with a minimum non-parole period of 28 years. When he murdered Tuxford, he was still on parole for the 1994 murder of his ex-girlfriend Kimberly Jean Schroder in Hokitika.
Russell Tully
Russell John Tully was responsible for the Ashburton Work and Income office shootings in September 2014. He was found guilty of murdering Peggy Noble and Leigh Cleveland, and of attempting to murder Kim Adams. He was sentenced to life imprisonment with a minimum non-parole period of 27 years.
Graeme Burton
Notorious killer Graeme Burton has a long and violent criminal history, with 100 convictions to his name. He was jailed for the 1992 murder of Paul Anderson. He was among a group of inmates who escaped prison in 2002. He was released on parole in 2006. In January 2007, he murdered Lower Hutt man Karl Kuchenbecker and was sentenced to life imprisonment with a minimum non-parole period of 26 years. He has also been found guilty of attempting to murder a fellow prison inmate. He's serving a sentence of preventative detention.
Bruce Howse
Bruce Howse murdered his stepdaughters, 12-year-old Saliel Aplin and 11-year-old Olympia Jetson while they were sleeping in their Masterton home in December 2001. He was sentenced to life imprisonment with a minimum non-parole period of 28 years, which was reduced to 25 years on appeal.
Tony Robertson
Tony Robertson was sentenced to life imprisonment with a minimum non-parole of 24 years for the rape and murder of Auckland woman Blessie Gottingco in May 2014.
Liam Reid
Liam Reid was jailed for life with a minimum non-parole period of 23 years for the 2007 murder of 20-year-old Christchurch woman Emma Agnew and the rape and attempted murder of a university student in Dunedin nine days later.
Jason Somerville
Jason Somerville pleaded guilty to murdering his wife and a neighbour and burying their bodies under his Christchurch house. He had strangled Tisha Lowry in September 2008 and killed Rebecca Somerville in August 2009. He was jailed for life with a minimum non-parole period of 23 years.