A Dunedin woman whose "callous" text messages prompted her partner to kill himself has failed to avoid a conviction.
Charlotte May Cole (31) appeared in the Dunedin District Court yesterday after admitting a charge of inciting suicide and will spend the next four months on a curfew.
The victim died on November 20, 2019, after spending five days in hospital.
His sister said yesterday that her life had been indelibly altered by her loss.
"My heart and soul are broken for my little brother," she told the court.
"He was a fantastic brother and an outstanding dad."
In a statement, the victim’s mother spoke about how her health had steadily declined since the man’s death.
"[He] is my baby son and I feel so empty without him."
Cole, who had a clean criminal record, applied for a discharge without conviction based on a range of factors including the potential impact on her plans to be become a chartered accountant.
A conviction might also jeopardise her position as treasurer at a local kindergarten, the court heard.
The discharge was opposed by Crown prosecutor Robin Bates who dismissed many of the suggested consequences of conviction as "speculative".
He stressed the seriousness of the offence and the tragic outcome.
Judge Emma Smith noted the incitement went on for a relatively lengthy period - three months.
Whether or not Cole was convicted, the statutory body for accountants would be informed of the offending, Judge Smith said.
"I have no doubt you remain anxious and distressed," the judge said, but she ruled the evidence did not meet the threshold for a discharge without conviction.
The court heard Cole and the victim had been married for four years and in a relationship for seven.
She knew he had a history of mental health issues and he would often tell her of his inner turmoil, a police summary said.
"What you must have known is his vulnerability," said Judge Smith.
Cole, who also had psychological problems, said she believed her partner’s threats of self-harm were used as a weapon to keep her in the relationship.
"In the last year of their relationship the victim was physically and emotionally abusive towards the defendant," police said.
The first of the dozen text messages was sent by Cole on August 9, 2019; the last came just hours before her partner was rushed to hospital on November 15 that year.
"These text messages were direct and encouraged the victim to commit suicide," the summary said.
Mr Bates said the communications were "callous" in nature and the result could not have been unexpected.
After getting expert advice from a Melbourne-based practitioner, Judge Smith permanently suppressed the specifics of the messages.
"Their publication may well put in danger a certain sector of the population," she said.
Cole was sentenced to four months’ community detention on a 9pm-6am curfew.
The judge declined the Otago Daily Times’ application to photograph the defendant.
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