A woman who killed her neighbour with a hammer after discharging herself from a Hamilton mental health facility has admitted murder.
Her guilty plea at the High Court in Hamilton yesterday comes one month out from going on trial, The Waikato Times reported
The woman, who has interim name suppression. went to the Hamilton home of neighbour Diane Elizabeth White, 53, on January 16 last year and struck her on the head with a hammer killing her.
The offender had recently discharged herself from the Henry Rongomau Bennett Centre at Waikato Hospital.
She told the court yesterday she was sorry for what she had done and had been dealing with some personal issues at the time.
Her lawyer, Bruce Hesketh, said his client had no choice but to plead guilty given the "overwhelming" evidence against her.
Psychiatrists had found she was not insane at the time of the murder, he said.
She was remanded in custody to be sentenced in September.
