A man who was convicted of fatally stabbing a fellow homeless man then mutilating his ears will have his case heard by the Court of Appeal — 27 years after he was jailed.
Warning: This article includes details of graphic violence and sexual assault.
Lon Reti was found guilty of murdering Leslie Edmonds at a squatters’ house in central Christchurch in 1997. He was sentenced to life imprisonment and remains in prison.
But a three-year investigation by the Criminal Cases Review Commission has found evidence related to Reti’s personal history and mental health was not put before the court.
The CCRC released its decision today, saying the information was relevant to Reti’s partial defence of provocation.
1News understood the jury was not told Reti was abused while in state care.
At his trial in 1998, Reti argued he didn’t intend to stab Edmonds and was acting in self-defence, provoked by Edmonds making sexual advances.
The judgment from Reti’s failed Court of Appeal bid in 1999 outlined what happened.
“In the morning, according to the appellant, he awoke to find the victim engaged in performing oral sex on him. The appellant made a number of requests for the victim to leave the house.
“The victim persisted with these sexual overtures and the appellant punched him. When this did not dissuade the victim from his approaches, the appellant stabbed him a number of times in the chest and throat. He then cut off the victim’s ears and put them in his pocket.”
In 2009, the then National government abolished the partial defence of provocation, limiting its use to the sentencing stage.
But the Criminal Cases Review Commission found serious concerns about whether the partial defence of provocation was fully and fairly considered during the trial, and has referred the conviction back to the Court of Appeal.
This is the Commission’s fifth referral to an appeals court since it was established in 2020.
“We don’t decide guilt or innocence, that’s the role of the courts. We have a duty to act, when we uncover information that could have made a real difference to the outcome. Our power of investigation and referral is an important safeguard in the justice system,” said Chief Commissioner Denis Clifford.
Reti’s lawyer Kerry Cook said the CCRC’s referral could be seen as a “brave step” because of the nature of the incident and the involvement of the now-repealed partial defence of provocation.
“However, this referral merely reflects the independence and integrity of the CCRC, which is an organisation devoted to justice. Despite the nature of any crime or any admitted acts, every New Zealander is entitled to justice — and that is all that Mr Reti seeks from this referral.”
Crown Law was approached for comment but declined because the matter was now back before the courts.
