His lawyer said the young guy who killed his mother and ran away with her body will always be tormented by the thought that he should have called triple zero to perhaps save her life.
After admitting to killing his mother, 41-year-old Angela Huata, at their Springvale home in Melbourne’s southeast in February 2022, Tia Minhinnick faces a lengthy prison sentence.
The Supreme Court of Victoria was informed on Monday that Minhinnick, who was 20 years old at the time, had a “highly conflictual” relationship with his mother prior to the attack, which was motivated by his suspicion that she was abusing his younger sister.
On February 9, he was high on drugs and alcohol when his roommates got home before midnight and discovered him ranting at his mother, who was lying on the living room floor, with cuts all over her body.
Minhinnick said, “get the f*** up,” as he persisted in his attack, and his roommates fled to their rooms as a result of his threats.
Eventually, Minhinnick moved his attack on Huata from the living room to the garage, bandaging her cuts on her chin and nose with Band-Aids.
“I think I might of gone too far,” he messaged his girlfriend Natalie Jensen shortly before 1:30 in the morning after bandaging her head.
According to Tim Marsh, Minhinnick’s attorney, his client will “have to live with the consequence of not calling triple zero for the rest of his life” because he should have done so.
“This is a young man who did realise the horror of what he’d done and – albeit ineffectual – sought to remedy it,” Marsh stated.
Prosecutor David Glynn stated that it was uncertain if Huata was still alive when she was returned home and placed in Minhinnick’s bed.
Later, Jensen arrived and asked why Minhinnick’s housemates were taking so long to depart as he slept in a bedroom with his mother’s corpse till the housemates left in the morning.
Minhinnick composed, “I have to jump the back fence,” in a message to Jensen. About 12:15 p.m. on February 10, Jensen called the police, lying and claiming to have just arrived at the residence before starting CPR on Ms. Huata.
Blood was discovered by the police on the fridge, washing machine, and walls in the kitchen as well as in the garage.
In addition to multiple rib fractures, a ruptured eardrum, a cut to her liver, and a head damage, Huata was found dead at the site after being stripped naked.
The court was informed that some of her bruises occurred prior to the deadly assault.
Huata’s mother reported that due to the severity of her injuries, she was unable to open her daughter’s casket when her body was brought to New Zealand.
In a victim impact statement, she stated, “On February 10th, at 11.32am, I heard this voice in my head and it was Angela calling out to me – she just went,’mum’.”
“You mistreated your mom. It was dreadful. My eldest daughter, Angela. I just wanted to give her a hug and embrace her.”
According to Marsh, his client’s life was plagued by mental health problems such as complicated post-traumatic stress disorder, substance misuse, homelessness, irregular employment and schooling, and violence.
Before the incident, Marsh said, Minhinnick’s perception that his mother was abusing his sister caused a series of traumas.
The thrashing was characterized by Glynn as “sustained and savage”. Minhinnick will be sentenced by Judge Richard Niall at a later time.
