Teen babysitter who stabbed and strangled 9-year-old boy to death shows no remorse, jailed for life
A teenage babysitter was sentenced to life in prison after he stabbed and strangled a nine-year-old boy to death. Daniel Cameron was babysitting Hunter MacIntosh in October last year when he stabbed and strangled the latter to death in Southland, New Zealand. Cameron was 15 at the time. As reported by the New Zealand Herald, the killer's anonymity was lifted by Justice Rachel Dunningham as she sentenced him to life imprisonment with a minimum of at least 11 years in jail.
On the evening of the murder, both Daniel's mum, Amy King, and Cameron's mum were playing pool at a pub. The court heard how Cameron, who had babysat Daniel at least 10 times before, stabbed him. According to stuff.co.nz, Cameron was found to have asked three friends on Snapchat, "What would you do if I killed someone?" He asked the same question to a friend on Facebook and asked his mother to pick him up just before both the mothers returned. At about 10.30 pm that evening, Amy returned to find her son lying on the floor at the foot of his bed with a 25 cm knife in his stomach. She reportedly "ran out of the house screaming", according to The Sun.
Hunter had three large stab wounds to his chest and had marks consistent with asphyxia on his neck, according to the post mortem, which also suggested that the boy had been killed within 90 minutes of being with Cameron. Amy told the court how Cameron was texting her during the time he murdered her son and was convinced he knew what he was doing despite his minor status. "He is a brutal murderer, his age should have no influence on his sentence and no sentence will ever compare to the sentence he has given Hunter and us," the devastated mother said. "Life really is a 'no life' sentence for Hunter."
Amy said she wished Cameron could be "jailed forever" as he "chose to take away our son, our world." She revealed she was 28 weeks pregnant at the time of the murder. "People say, try to remember the good times - I remember finding my son dead - a knife protruding his stomach, blood around his mouth - him being so pale and knowing that I could not do anything to save him," she said.
Addressing Cameron, Justice Dunningham said the "impact of your offending has been devastating." "It's every parent's worst nightmare and the (victim's) family are living with that nightmare," she added. The judge noted that she saw "no real evidence" and " no remorse" from the killer, but chose to chalk it up to a "reflection of Cameron's immaturity." That said, it was also revealed how Cameron had been bullied in school but his mother did not think it had any "lingering effects" on him.
Bill Dawkins, the lawyer representing Cameron, told the court "he didn't have the answer" as to why his client killed Hunter. "Since my first meeting with the defendant I don't know why he did the unthinkable," he said.
Hunter's family released a statement after the sentencing. "Hunter now has a wee brother who will never know him and his cousins still cry when he is not there," they said. "Time has not yet eased any of the pain caused by this senseless act and we still wait for an explanation as to what happened and why. We all miss him very much."