Bailed woman has history of violent attacks

Otago Daily Times

15-07-2025

A woman who launched a series of violent assaults on people she knew, including brandishing weapons in front of young children, was on bail for violence-related charges.
Nastasia Edwards' victims were all known to her and living at Christchurch properties when she launched her attacks on January 14 last year.
Judge Raoul Neave described Edwards' behaviour as very serious offending when she appeared for sentencing on multiple charges, including assault and threatening to kill, in the Christchurch District Court last week.
'We had innocent members of the public attacked by her - there has to be some sort of protection.'
The court heard that Edwards' first victim was at her St Martins home with her 7-year-old daughter and 20-year-old son when she saw Edwards standing in their driveway.
Edwards, a mother-of-three, started swinging a metal baseball bat as she walked towards their courtyard door.
The victim and her son tried to close the door as Edwards, pushing against it and damaging it as she made her way in, kept swinging the baseball bat wildly.
She hit a mirror the victim had hung on an external wall, then struck a French door, shattering the safety glass panel.
After damaging the door, she began aiming and swinging at the victim's son, in a vertical motion over her head, striking his left arm several times as he raised it to protect his head.
When the victim tried to intervene, Edwards struck her on the hand with the bat.
Edwards fled when a neighbour called out that police were on their way.
About 45 minutes later, Edwards arrived at a Papanui address several kilometres away where the victim was home with her 6-year-old son and 15-year-old daughter.
The victim recognised Edwards as she approached the open driveway gate with her hands hidden behind her back.
As she smiled at the victim, Edwards asked her if a vehicle parked on the driveway belonged to her. At the same time she used a hammer to smash a rear window of the victim's vehicle.
The victim was outraged and asked Edwards what she was doing.
Edwards yelled at her, demanding that she come out, saying she was going to kill her and her kids.
The victim, fearing for her children's safety, ran into her house to find her children.
As Edwards continued smashing the windows, she yelled out to the victim, saying she was going to kill her.
Nine windows were damaged as the victim managed to make it to her vehicle and flee.
Edwards then left the property. Supermarket violence and car crash
Those two incidents in 2024 weren't the first time Edwards had been violent. She was already on bail at the time for several other incidents.
Judge Neave said the first was in September 2022 when Edwards attacked a woman and staff at a Christchurch supermarket.
Edwards grabbed the woman's hair and pulled her to the ground while three staff members tried to intervene. She spat in the face of one staff member and punched another.
The assault started after Edwards began arguing with the woman about the positioning of her trolley.
In May 2023, she was involved in a minor crash with another vehicle in Christchurch. She ripped a windscreen wiper off the vehicle and punched the driver several times.
The judge said the most serious charges, from the January 2024 incidents, would have left the victims terrified. There were no mitigating factors, with the number of people affected and the premeditated nature of the attacks on them in their own homes.
'You are not justified in revenge and attempts to inflict justice on your behalf.'
Judge Neave said Edwards had become hypersensitive, her judgment impaired by her mental health, leading to a 'gross over-reaction', and rehabilitation needed to be considered.
Edwards was sentenced to two years' intensive supervision and six months' community detention on charges of common assault, wilful damage, assault with intent to injure and threatening to kill.
- By Al Williams, Open Justice reporter