2 hours ago
3
A Perth teenager murdered an elderly man as “payback” for being kicked out of a hotel room at the end of a night of heavy drinking, a court has been told.
Pasifique Niyonyishi, now 21, killed Colin Norton, 81, and stabbed his wife Margaret after arriving at their Greenwood home about 8am on March 4, 2024.
Colin Norton died of his injuries, while his wife Margaret survived the stabbing attack.
The attack came about three hours after Niyonyishi had a drunken altercation with his long-term friend and the couple’s son, known as “Charlie”, at the Mercure Hotel.
During his sentencing in the Supreme Court of WA on Monday, the court was told Niyonyishi repeatedly told other friends he was going to kill Charlie for disrespecting him by making him leave the hotel room at the end of a heavy drinking session with friends.
Charlie, who booked the room, spent the night there.
After eating McDonald’s and seeing a FIFO friend off at the airport, he caught a ride-share to Charlie’s family home and was let in by Mr Norton, who told him Charlie was not there.
Niyonyishi asked if he could wait for Charlie to return, and Mr Norton agreed and continued doing his chores.
Niyonyishi then grabbed a knife from the kitchen and repeatedly stabbed Mr Norton while he was folding towels in the laundry.
He then stabbed Ms Norton in the stomach, before she escaped and ran outside to alert a neighbour. The family’s dog was also attacked.
Greenwood was put into lockdown as police hunted a man armed with a knife. Niyonyishi was arrested a short time later about five kilometres away on a suburban street.
Pasifique Niyonyishi was arrested a short time after the stabbing.Credit: 9 News Perth
During an interview with police, Niyonyishi told them he wanted to kill Charlie’s parents, so Charlie would know the pain of them being dead, and that he “went savage” on Mr Norton.
“I didn’t really matter to me … it was really about taking something from Charlie … I could take his life, or I could take something like his parents,” he said.
“I’ve always wondered what it was like to kill someone, I was curious about that.”
Niyonyishi’s blood-alcohol reading at the time of his arrest was 0.095. There were no drugs in his system.
Defence lawyer Helen Prince said Niyonyishi could not explain why he acted so violently, and that he was experiencing an undiagnosed psychiatric episode at the time, with friends claiming his eyes appeared glazed over.
“He was very remorseful … he was unable to comprehend why he has done what he has done,” she said.
“He knew what he was doing was wrong, but couldn’t stop himself, that shows he was in a manic state.”
Niyonyishi had a difficult upbringing and was exposed to extreme violence early in his childhood while living in a Tanzanian refugee camp. He has been diagnosed with complex post-traumatic stress disorder.
He apologised for his actions in a letter to Charlie.
“I’m deeply sorry for the pain I’ve caused you, I’m sorry for taking Colin away from you. I don’t know what came over me. You’ve been one of my closest friends for years. I wake up every morning … I think about all the pain I’ve caused everyone … I regret what I did,” he wrote.
Prince said the Nortons, originally from New Zealand, were kind people, and always welcomed Charlie’s friends into their home.
In a victim impact statement, one of their sons recalled how Mr Norton was the protector of the family.
“We should have been celebrating their 50th year of marriage, now days are filled with sadness,” he said.
“He should have died peacefully in his sleep. He didn’t deserve to be taken so brutally and inhumanely.”
After pleading guilty to murder and attempted murder, Niyonyishi was sentenced to life imprisonment, and is to serve a minimum of 18 years before being eligible for parole.
Justice Michael Gething described the violence as a “callous and senseless” act against two innocent people.
Start the day with a summary of the day’s most important and interesting stories, analysis and insights. Sign up for our Morning Edition newsletter.
Most Viewed in National
Loading
