Yesterday, the woman who murdered him and her accomplice, who helped dispose of Mr Watene’s body, were sentenced in the High Court at Invercargill by Justice Gerald Nation.
Sandy Maree Graham (33) was given a life sentence with a minimum period of imprisonment of 13 years for the murder of Mr Watene on April 16, 2020.
George William Hyde (25) was given eight months’ home detention after he was found guilty of being an accessory after the fact to manslaughter.
Mr Watene’s body was found buried in the Longwood forest on May 18, 2020.
Mr Watene’s former partner and mother of his son, Heidi McDowall, described how Mr Watene’s murder had impacted her and her son’s lives.
She said they had planted a rose in a pot with a blue cross beside it for her son in memory of his father.
Her heart broke when on Father’s Day, while her other children were off visiting their father, the boy asked to have a photo taken beside the rose.
The night before Mr Watene was murdered, he spoke to his son, she said.
"The last words he heard from him were ‘Dad loves you my boy’," Ms McDowell said.
Crown lawyer Riki Donnelly said the Crown was seeking a starting point of 15 years’ imprisonment because of not only the murder and the disposal of the body but also the continuous denials and spreading of lies by Graham.
He said the family declined the $5000 reparation payment offered by Hyde.
Graham’s lawyer, Sarah Saunderson-Warner, said her client had been diagnosed with alcohol use disorder, cannabis use disorder and post-traumatic stress disorder and had been abused as a child.
"She has suffered severe distress in relation to this matter and taken extensive steps towards her own rehabilitation."
Fiona Guy Kidd, KC, appearing for Hyde, said her client had offered to plead guilty to the charge of misconduct of human remains two years prior but the Crown had declined.
Hyde was of good character and hard working. His actions around the disposal of Mr Watene’s body were contrary to that character, she said.
Justice Nation said the murder of Mr Watene and the cover-up that followed was both callous and merciless.
"You [Graham] were not willing to discuss the circumstances of the offending with the Probation officer and you still say you do not know what happened."
Graham’s killing of Mr Watene was an irrational act of violence while in a rage, he said.
Where Hyde had buried Mr Watene and the way he was buried meant he might never have been discovered, Justice Nation said.
While Hyde was manipulated and used by Ms Graham, despite his cognitive difficulties he still knew what he did would prevent police from finding Mr Watene’s body.
Last night Detective Inspector Stu Harvey acknowledged the impact on Mr Watene’s family of their son’s death.
"Nothing will ease the pain of what has occurred, but it is my hope that today’s sentencing will bring some level of comfort to his loved ones."
