Jordan Taylor, who had just turned 18 when he murdered Anita Jane Taylor on January 13, 2023, was sentenced to life and ordered to serve a minimum of 10 years behind bars when he was sentenced before the High Court at Dunedin.
Justice Melanie Harland called it an “extraordinarily difficult” decision and yesterday Taylor’s lawyers told the Court of Appeal she got it wrong.
Counsel Kerry Cook said the killing did not meet the threshold as a case with a high level of brutality and argued the sentencing judge had overstated the defendant’s future risk to society.
Taylor, he said, should be subject to a lengthy prison sentence but a life term was unjust.
“The context is crucial in this case,” he said.
Taylor and his mother largely lived a life of isolation, with very little contact with family or friends, the court heard.
A psychiatric report referred to a relationship characterised by verbal and psychological maltreatment and emotional neglect inflicted by Ms Taylor.
Mr Cook accepted her intentions were not “malevolent”.
“She didn’t set out to punish him or ruin his upbringing,” he said.
But the complex codependence between the pair came to a head following a birthday celebration for Taylor.
They had been drinking when the victim berated her son for several minutes, telling him she wanted to die.
Mr Cook said Taylor would have viewed that as the “ultimate rejection” and felt it far more keenly than anyone in a typical mother-son relationship.
As Ms Taylor lay in bed, the defendant went into her room and bludgeoned her with a 10kg weight.
Crown prosecutor Mark Lillico highlighted the then teenager’s description of what ensued.
“After one blow he could see his mother’s head was caved in . . . he hit her another four times to ‘finish her off’,” he said.
“This was brutal under any understanding of the word.”
Taylor put a tea towel on the stove, turned it on then set off north on foot, eventually stopping at a house to call police and confess his crime.
Mr Cook said the murder did not involve prolonged suffering and had to be viewed by the court against the background of his client’s extreme isolation.
He also stressed his client’s youth, “deep insight” and genuine remorse which he said indicated strong prospects of rehabilitation.
“Public protection doesn’t apply in this case as strongly as in others,” Mr Cook said.
“It’s entirely possible with his mother now deceased, perversely his risk of further acts of violence would be lower.”
Justice Harland’s comment that the life sentence she imposed was “virtually the same” as a lengthy finite term was “plainly wrong”, he argued.
Before sentencing in 2023, he professed his regret for what had occurred.
“I think about her every day. I never meant to express any hatred towards her. She was the only person in the world that I loved. I feel awful for what I did. I feel deep remorse for my family, and I hope that they can forgive me,” he said.
The court heard Taylor had been doing well with the structure in the youth wing of the prison where he was housed.
The Court of Appeal would have to find the outcome was “manifestly unjust” to overturn it and impose a finite prison sentence.
Justice Jillian Mallon acknowledged the unique factors the case presented.
In 20 years on the bench, she said, she had never come across a situation like it.
Several background elements of the case, which were vital to the sentencing decision, remain suppressed.
Justices Mallon, Grice and Jagose reserved their decision, which will be released in writing.
