Blenheim man sent to prison after violently murdering mother in argument

RNZ News

a day ago

Paul Thomas Armon has been sentenced in the High Court in Blenheim for the murder of his mother, Jennifer Phyllis Sheehan.
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RNZ/Samantha Gee
A man who snapped during an argument with his mother over dinner and used a crowbar and a knife to kill her before handing himself into police three days' later has been sentenced to life in prison.
Paul Thomas Armon, 55, appeared for sentencing at the High Court at Blenheim on Thursday for the murder of his mother Jennifer Phyllis Sheehan, 78.
The pair was having dinner at her Blenheim home, something they did every Friday night, when an argument escalated into violence.
Justice Grice said Armon attacked his elderly mother, taking her by surprise, striking her head with a crowbar and again as she lay defenceless on the ground.
"You then stabbed her four times in the chest. Rather than seeking medical help or calling an ambulance, you stood over her and watched her as she took her last breaths," she said.
Armon was angry about comments his mother had made about his previous relationships and lifestyle, which was something they frequently argued about.
Sheehan's family members declined to provide victim impact statements but Justice Grice said it was clear Armon's actions undoubtedly had a profound and permanent effect on their lives.
"Of course, the ultimate harm has been done to your mother who's lost her life because of what you've done," she said.
Justice Grice said the murder was not pre-meditated, Armon had turned himself in and confessed, entered guilty pleas at the first available opportunity and expressed remorse, but there was a high degree of callousness and his mother had been a defenceless and vulnerable victim.
Jennifer Phyllis Sheehan.
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Supplied / Facebook
The court heard Armon and Sheehan had a fraught relationship.
Justice Grice said reports showed the pair had been close when Armon was young, but he experienced mental health struggles as a teenager and had turned to alcohol, drugs and crime.
Armon had turned his life around by the age of 29 and was in a long-term relationship with two children, but that ended after the Christchurch earthquakes when he lapsed back into drug use.
His mother had stood by him but had also been critical of his life choices despite changes he had made and would regularly bring up the past and frequently make direct insults and hurtful comments.
Armon said he had usually dealt with them by walking away.
The court heard Armon moved back to Blenheim in 2023 at his mother's request to support her but chose not to live with her because of concerns about her behaviour.
"Nevertheless, you said you loved your mother and wanted to be a good son to her. Every Friday evening you'd buy takeaways for dinner and would eat and watch television with her. You said on the night in question your mother started having a go at you for no reason, which caused you to snap," Grice said.
On the day of the attack, Armon said his mother had started swearing at him and calling him names that triggered him, making him so angry that he "totally lost the plot".
In a letter to the court he said, "I wish every day that I had walked away as I had many times before".
A psychiatric report said that while Armon's actions seemingly came out of nowhere and appeared out of character, they emanated from lifelong feelings of resentment and inadequacy.
Another report said Armon was still coming to terms with what he had done, grieving the loss of his mother and appeared incredulous at his own behaviour.
It said he had demonstrated remorse and taken full responsibility for his actions and had made no attempt to deflect, justify or excuse the killing.
After the murder Armon had dragged his mother into the bathroom so no-one could see her lying on the kitchen floor.
He went outside and smoked a cigarette before attempting to clean up by wiping down blood in the kitchen. He put the knife in the kitchen sink and threw the crowbar under a bed before going home.
Three days later Armon went to Blenheim police station and told staff he had murdered someone.
"I have killed my mother, last Friday, in her home," he told an officer.
When spoken to further, he confessed to hitting his mother on the back of the head twice with the crowbar and stabbing her three times in the chest.
A short time later police found Sheehan dead on her bathroom floor.
Crown prosecutor Mark O'Donoghue said there was a high level of callousness in the murder and Sheehan was particularly vulnerable because she was a defenceless, elderly woman who had been taken by surprise.
"Rather than then seeking medical help or walking away, the defendant has gone to the kitchen, armed himself with a carving knife and cold-bloodedly stabbed her four times. He appears to have finished what he started," he said.
O'Donoghue said Sheehan "stood no chance" against her younger son, who was armed with two weapons and who should have walked away as he had described doing many times before.
Armon was not suffering from an untreated psychosis and did not have impaired threat perception or judgment, the court heard.
Defence lawyer Rob Harrison said there was an element of provocation in the murder.
A psychiatrist report said Armon had a conflicted relationship with his mother where he felt belittled, demeaned and criticised, which Harrison said contributed to his actions.
"Throughout his life, she has been extremely critical of him. This was not a premeditated murder. This was an assault, a murderous assault, where the defendant snapped and he cannot explain why," he said.
Despite the difficulties in their relationship, Armon clearly loved his mother, which was evident in his return to Blenheim at her request and weekly dinners.
Harrison said Armon spent the weekend after the murder wandering around in shock before turning himself in.
He had written letters to his family, including his brother and children, apologising for the murder and seeking their forgiveness.
Justice Grice sentenced Armon to life imprisonment with a minimum non-parole period of 15 years.
She said a 17-year minimum non-parole period would have been manifestly unjust because it did not take into account his early guilty plea, so she awarded him a two-year discount.
Detective Sergeant Ashley Clarke of Marlborough CIB acknowledged the sentence and extended extend police sympathies to Sheehan's family.
"While no outcome can bring Mrs Sheehan back, we are pleased that the matter has now been concluded through the courts."
Clarke thanked the investigations team as well as the wider public who helped police with information during the investigation.