Teen babysitter who killed nine-year-old sentenced to life

A teenage babysitter who messaged his friends asking "what would you do if I killed someone?" on the night he murdered a nine-year-old Otautau boy has been been sentenced to at least 11-years behind bars.

This afternoon Daniel Cameron (16) is appearing before Justice Rachel Dunningham and a packed public gallery at Invercargill High Court.

Justice Dunningham sentenced Cameron to life in prison, with a minimum non-parole period of 11 years.

Before his sentence was handed out Justice Dunningham lifted name suppression.

About 50 people were in the public gallery today, including the victim's mother who was visibly emotional.

Last year, he pleaded guilty after the mother of nine-year-old boy Hunter MacIntosh found her son stabbed on the floor of his bedroom on October 30.

The summary of facts says the youth was babysitting the child while his parents where playing pool with the mother and stepfather of the victim.

He had been paid to babysit the child on at least 10 previous occasions, the document says.

The victim was found with a knife embedded in his stomach and had received wounds to his torso and chest area.

He also had injuries consistent with asphyxia and a moderate head injury.

About 6pm, the defendant's mother dropped the youth at the victim's house.

About two hours later, the youth was seen walking down the street.

At 8.20pm, the accused sent a message to a friend via social media where he wrote: "Help."

Ten minutes later, he sent three other friends a Snapchat message which said: "What would you do if I killed someone."

He also messaged another friend and asked: "What would you think of me if I killed someone" and then "straight-forward answer."

The victim's mother sent a message to the accused at 10.10pm asking if the boy was asleep, but she did not receive a reply.

At 10.30pm, the youth sent a message to his mother which said "I'm sorry, come get me."

Around that time, the accused's mother and victim's mother and stepfather returned to the address in Otautau where the mother found her son lying on his back on the floor of his bedroom.

The youth was not at the address.

Emergency services were then called.

Police and medical staff members confirmed the victim was dead after they arrived at the house.

The post mortem suggested the boy  had been killed within 90 minutes of being in the care of the youth.

The accused was seen walking again in Otautau about 11pm. About half an hour later he returned home and was arrested about one hour later, at 12.40am.