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Teen gets five years for killing gay cop

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Teen gets five years for killing gay cop

3News NZ

Denis Phillips

Denis Phillips

A teenager who stabbed an off-duty police officer to death in south Auckland has been jailed for five years.

Willie John Ahsee, 17, was found guilty in October of the manslaughter of Denis Phillips, despite originally being charged with murder. Mr Phillips was a temporary sworn constable, who was known to proposition younger males.

Mr Phillips, 59, was found dead in his home in Papakura on July 30 last year after he was stabbed four times in the neck.

The Crown said Ahsee knew Mr Phillips for a month and had been working out with him in his garage gym that day.

After some thumping was heard by neighbours between 9pm and 10pm, Ahsee was overheard saying "I killed somebody" near his own home about 10.15pm.

Ahsee's lawyer said his client had admitting stabbing Mr Phillips, but that jurors had to consider his state of mind and self-defence.

Mr Phillips’ sister Sharon was present in court, reading a victims impact statement. She said the first she heard of the murder was on the 6pm news bulletin.

She does not believe the sentence was long enough, stating another ten years should have been added.

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Comments

19/12/2011 5:33:17 p.m.

pondering wrote:

@Jan : yes there is much missing from this story . There has been other news coverage of the situation of this older man in the long term employ of the Counties Manukau Police. Even if we had not been informed that he regularly picked up and approached male youths on a regular basis, generally making a nuisance of himself with full knowledge and complicity of his behaviours by his employees; we could have filled the gaps for ourselves. Counties manukau cops have a shocking record of such predatory activities being covered up. Another pedophile protected and enabled by the local cops. Where is the investigation on this one?

19/12/2011 11:52:34 a.m.

jan wrote:

Is something missing from this story?. Did the offender know he was gay before he worked out in the home gym?. If so what did he expect? Was the decesed a pervert luring young men to his home gym, don't know, the article doesn't say. So what that he was gay. And he was not a cop. He was a pretend one.

15/12/2011 11:12:02 p.m.

Jer wrote:

Completely agree, Steve. The man was a sexual predator and a pervert. This was a tragedy waiting to happen.

15/12/2011 10:45:01 p.m.

kelvyn wrote:

5 years for murder?...I don't believe this !! Tell me its a bad dream!! The law is an ass and this sentence is an insult to society. The Judge who handed down this sentence should be locked up with the offender.

15/12/2011 9:26:40 p.m.

pondering wrote:

@Brett: others might be wondering how a kid got his life ruined by a known pediphiliac sex predator. Maybe the police should have arrested the old guy for his crimes years ago. Just saying....

15/12/2011 8:16:15 p.m.

Steve wrote:

The boy should be set free now. If the predator's modus operandi was to lure teenage boys to his home under the guise of friendship then get them drunk before trying to violate them then this was a tragedy just waiting to happen.

15/12/2011 4:06:19 p.m.

Brett wrote:

Well, well.... lifes just got real cheap! He's eligible for parole after only serving two thirds of his sentence so after 3 years he'll be out!