Mark Ronald Garson sentenced to life in prison

“I didn’t get a single moment to sit with my love,” she said.

That winter’s morning, Garson had circled their campervan, knocking, demanding the keys.

McKinnon – who was described by his family as a man who would help anybody – was looking for the keys when Garson fired into the vehicle.

The shot hit McKinnon in the abdomen and, not long after, a second shot struck his head.

Garson then threatened Buckley. She gave him the keys and begged to have a moment with her fiance.

Instead, Garson said: “No, I’ll take care of him”, and shut the door between them before driving away, Buckley said.

He’d ripped away her future, she said, as the pair were planning to buy some land, build a house, and had talked about having kids.

As a midwife, she brings life into the world, but she sometimes feels sad holding newborns and thinking McKinnon will never have children of his own.

On the night McKinnon was killed, she first hid, then sought help at a farmhouse.

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McKinnon’s body was later found about 70 kilometres away, in the abandoned campervan near Hamilton.

Several members of McKinnon’s family were in court, and other family and friends watched the proceedings from Australia, vie an audiovisual link.

Crown Prosecutor Jacinda Hamilton said the murder was an explosive violent episode.

“There was a high level of callousness.

“This man effectively executed Mr McKinnon when Mr McKinnon was doing all that he could to assist him.”

What happened was a genuine tragedy, defence counsel Charles Bean said, but Garson’s methamphetamine addiction and mental health issues provided context.

Garson made multiple attempts on his life in the weeks leading up to the shooting, and was seen by the crisis team after his arrest.

He hoped to complete rehabilitation and to help others, Bean said.

Garson’s callous act happened in a camper van which should have been a sanctuary for McKinnon and Buckley, Justice Christine Gordon said.

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Garson had said he was hallucinating and hearing voices at the time.

Gordon imposed 15½ after giving discounts for Garson’s guilty pleas and personal factors.

If he could stay off methamphetamine, reports indicated he would be significantly less likely to offend, she said. However, even if released, Garson could be recalled at any time if judged necessary.

Gordon also sentenced Garson to three years in prison for threatening to kill Buckley, to be served concurrently.

The man who supplied the gun used in the shooting, Roderick James Finlayson, was in July sentenced to six months’ community detention.

He had pleaded guilty to unlawful possession of a firearm and ammunition.

According to the summary of facts read during Finlayson’s sentencing, Garson first contacted Finlayson, who has a firearms licence, about buying a firearm in March 2019.

The pair eventually agreed in August 2019 that Finlayson would buy the firearm in exchange for $NZ400 ($379), and Garson drove him to the shop.

The Crown acknowledged during that sentencing that Finlayson had no inkling of what the firearm would be used for, and never received the $NZ400.

Stuff.co.nz