A Dunedin man who murdered a couple and then set their house alight has been sentenced to life imprisonment.
Wiremu Paul Namana Photo: RNZ / Tim Brown
Wiremu Paul Namana appeared in the High Court in Dunedin this afternoon for sentence for the murders of Anastasia Margaret Neve (35) and David Ian Clarke (49), and the arson of their South Dunedin home.
The 50-year-old was jailed for life with a non-parole period of 17 years.
Namana killed the pair on the night of 21 January 2018, after trying to source drugs.
He flew into a rage and beat and stabbed the couple to death with a variety of weapons.
He later returned and set the Wesley Street flat on fire.
An elderly man with a disability lived in the rear flat of the address and was lucky to escape the blaze.
Krysta Neve told the court the death of her eldest sister had a devastating effect on her life.
"The traumatic way my sister passed still affects me now, but it's more sadness for her and her life and the things she didn't get to do. She didn't deserve to die."
"We feel like we are in a black hole... our hearts are just sad," another victim impact statement from the deceased's families said.
Anastasia Neve and David Clarke Photo: Supplied
Prosecutor Craig Power said the victim impact statements demonstrated the harrowing effect the deaths of Neve and Clarke had on their families and loved ones.
The attack was violent and prolonged, and the attempt to disguise his crimes through burning the bodies and their home demonstrated a high degree of callousness, Power said.
Namana was much larger than either of the victims and inflicted devastating blows to the heads and bodies of the victims using a cricket bat, sledgehammer and knife.
His lawyer, Judith Ablett-Kerr QC, said Namana had suffered a life of abuse and tragedy.
Justice Gerald Nation said Namana suffered an addiction to intravenous drugs, in particular morphine, which had been getting worse in the period before the murders.
On 21 January 2018, Clarke went to an address to obtain morphine, but Namana was not allowed there.
Clarke left the address without alerting Namana.
After 10pm that night Namana called an associate and told them Neve and Clarke were not answering their door and he was thinking about kicking in the door.
After entering the address, he flew into a rage and carried out the murderous attack.
He returned early the next morning and set fire to the address.
Namana was expected to stand trial for the crimes earlier this year after denying his guilt for more than three years, but entered shock guilty pleas in June this year, only weeks before his trial was due to begin.
Justice Nation said Namana was at high-risk of further violent offending.
He will not eligible for release until 2035.