It's been revealed a man sentenced to life in prison for double murder phoned his daughter at work to tell her he'd finished off her mother and sister.
Ishrat Malik has been sentenced to life in prison with a minimum non-parole period of 18 and-a-half years after earlier pleading guilty to murdering his wife Farhat and daughter Sidra Malik.
At the High Court in Auckland today Justice Moore told Malik that he had also lost the rest of his family.
The court heard how in May last year Malik brooded overnight about the breakdown of his marriage.
In the morning, he called his boss and said he wouldn't be coming in for a few days. A short time later, he took a kitchen knife and stabbed his wife and daughter to death in their bedrooms.
He then called police to his West Auckland home but also called his daughter Rida at work to say he had finished off her mother and sister.
After handing down the sentence Justice Moore said Malik would face another form of imprisonment.
"For the rest of your life, even if you are released, you'll carry the weight of the irreversible consequences of what you did and the likelihood, if not the inevitability, in the addition of losing Farhat and Sidra, you have also lost the rest of your family," he said.
Auckland High Court. Photo: RNZ
Court doesn't buy mental illness act
Earlier, Malik's lawyer Paul Borich told the court his client was sorry for what he had done but a letter from Malik to Justice Moore suggested otherwise.
Justice Moore summarised the letter and said Malik wrote of a happy marriage and that he and his wife were inseparable.
"You say you miss her and the children and you seek forgiveness and then ask, that at 56, your good character to date be taken into account and leniency extended. I am not satisfied from this correspondence that you are genuinely remorseful. Although you mention your wife, no where in your letter of remorse do you mention your daughter, Sidra, who you also killed.
"It is plain that even today, 10 months after you killed your wife and daughter, you still seem to think you are the one who was wronged," said Justice Moore.
He said Malik had tried to delay the inevitable by feigning mental health illness.
Some mental health workers were taken in by the ruse. Malik did everything to perpetuate it, even feigning surprise and confusion when told that he had killed his wife and daughter.
That matter had to be decided by the court at a pretrial hearing. While one doctor concluded Malik had a narcissistic personality disorder, all four found he had been exaggerating mental health symptoms.
Photo: RNZ
Impact statements
The first sign of emotion from Malik in court came when his daughter read victim impact statements from the family.
The 56-year-old wiped tears from his cheeks as Rida Malik told the court how she had trouble eating and sleeping since the murders.
Speaking from behind a screen his daughter said she saw the stab wounds on her sister and mother when she washed their bodies before the funeral service.
According to pathology reports, Farhat was stabbed 31 times while Sidra was stabbed 25 times.
Rida Malik also dealt with the family home and saw the clothes her mother had laid out to wear the day she was murdered. She also found snacks and drinks her mother had bought to celebrate her son's birthday that day.
Ms Malik also read her brother's victim impact statement. Mohammed told the court his studies had suffered. He said he felt his father could do anything since he had already killed his mother and sister.
He, like his sister, has asked for a protection order against Malik, in case he is ever released from prison.