A man was today jailed for at least 18 year for the "callous" killing of his stepson who was repeatedly kicked, beaten with a cricket stump and thrown against a wall.
Johnny Pukerua Joachim, 37, was jailed for life in the High Court at Nelson for murdering seven-year-old Duwayne Toetu Taote Pailegutu.
Justice Robert Dobson ordered Joachim must serve a minimum non-parole period of 18 years.
Duwayne died a slow death from asphyxiation by inhaling blood into his lungs after Joachim refused to allow the boy's mother to seek medical aid.
Justice Dobson outlined a brutal beating where Duwayne was thrown against a wall, struck with a cricket stump, then repeatedly kicked, eight days before he eventually died.
Joachim repeatedly stopped the boy's mother from seeking medical assistance, opting instead to treat him himself, further aggravating his injuries.
The court was told Joachim attacked the boy at the family home in Nelson after he left his jumper at school.
The boy's natural father, Rolly Pailegutu, sat in the back of the courtroom watching as his son's killer was sentenced.
Justice Dobson said Duwayne suffered 75 external injuries from the assaults, and scalds from where Joachim had tried to shock him back to consciousness with cold and then hot water.
Justice Dobson described Joachim's offending as at the worst end of the scale but said he co-operated fully with police and entered an early guilty plea.
He said victim impact statements from Mr Pailegutu and Duwayne's grandmother showed that his death had been a "huge loss" to the family.
Mr Pailegutu told the Nelson Mail his mother had urged him to put thoughts of what happened to Duwayne out of his mind to stop the hurt, and he said he hoped to be able to do this after the sentencing.
Duwayne's mother, Mary Joachim, has been charged with failing to provide the necessities of life, and is due to appear in the Nelson District Court for a depositions hearing on November 27.
Nelson Tasman Te Rito Family Violence coordinator Gayle Helm was in court to hear the sentencing and said afterwards the message had to get out to the community to stop violence.
To protect children like Duwayne, suspected family violence had to be reported because children deserved to be safe in their home, she said.
She said Joachim's sentence reflected the severity of the case.
