A teenage soldier said curiosity drove him to try to stab his sleeping roommate to death in their bunkroom at the Tekapo Military Camp.
The former soldier, now aged 19, today pleaded guilty in the High Court at Christchurch to charges of attempted murder and burglary for the incident on June 26, last year.
Logan Wiki Hodgson stabbed his roommate several times as he lay sleeping.
When he was asked by the police why he would want to kill someone he had described as a friend, he replied he felt that if he could kill a friend he could kill anyone.
At a later interview he was asked what had led him to the point where he wanted to kill a friend. He replied, "One word … curiosity."
Justice Graham Panckhurst remanded Hodgson in custody for sentence in the High Court at Timaru on December 16. He called for a pre-sentence report.
Hodgson said, "Thank you, Sir," as he was taken back into the cells.
The police said the victim was aged 19, and Hodgson was aged 17 at the time of the incident during a military exercise at Tekapo. The night of the stabbing, the pair lay down on their bunks, talked briefly, and then the victim dozed off. Hodgson got up at midnight and went outside for a while, listening to music on his MP4 player.
After an hour, he returned to the bunkroom, took out a pocket knife and opened the blade. He stood with the knife in his hand, watching the victim sleep.
He then tried to stab him in the throat, to sever his vocal cords and stop him crying out. He hesitated as he was about to stab and the victim stirred and rolled over.
Instead of the throat, the blow hit the victim in the face near his eye. There was a second stab to the face as the victim woke up and protected himself with his arms. Hodgson stabbed him in the forearms and hands as he tried to get at his throat.
The victim began calling out and Hodgson ran off, leaving the camp and heading towards Twizel.
A medic in the next room heard the victim's cries and found him lying covered in blood.
Hodgson broke into a rabbiters' bach at a station along State Highway 8, where he stole civilian clothing, a sleeping bag, towel, biscuits, and a bottle of lemonade. He moved on and slept on the ground in a stand of trees.
A police patrol car out searching for him spotted him next morning as he continued walking south.
During an interview at the Timaru Police Station with members of the Triage Assessment and Crisis team -- to assess his risk to himself or others -- Hodgson admitted he wanted to kill his roommate.
"He said that he regretted hesitating while standing over the victim and that had he not done so, he would have achieved his purpose," the police said. "Frustrated at his hesitation, he stabbed at the victim randomly, until he awakened and cried out for help."