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Man who killed woman on Auckland bus given life sentence

Otago Daily Times Online News·Wednesday, 13 May 2026·23 days ago
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By Finn Blackwell of RNZ The man who murdered a woman on an Auckland bus will spend at least 12 years behind bars. Kael Leona, 38, pleaded guilty to the murder of Bernice Louise Marychurch, who was killed in October 2024 while on the Number 74 bus in Onehunga. She had been stabbed approximately 20 times. There were nine other passengers on board. Leona pleaded guilty to murder and strangulation at a hearing in the High Court at Auckland in February. In the High Court on Wednesday, tearful statements were read from Marychurch's family. A cousin, Mark Hiini was first to speak before the court. He and other family members wore T-shirts with Marychurch's face, and the letters 'R.I.P'. He said the family had ridden the very bus Marychurch was murdered on, seeing the bloodstains left on the seats. "This disturbed me, disturbed my wairua, spirit, desecrating our whanau bloodline and whakapapa," he said. Hiini spoke directly to Leona.…

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