Tāngarākau campground murder: Adrian Humphreys’ family address teen killer

The grieving sister of Adrian Humphreys who was stabbed to death in his tent at a remote campground has described the teen who murdered him as a monster.

“Adrian helped people enjoy their lives, he did not deserve to have his ended in this cruel and unjust way,” Taresa Keatley said in her victim impact, read on her behalf at the sentencing of Justice Williamson-Atkinson on Wednesday.

“Only a monster could have done that. My grieving and feeling of loss will never go away, knowing he died alone, scared and in great pain.”Williamson-Atkinson, 17, appeared in the High Court at New Plymouth where he was jailed for life with a minimum period of imprisonment (MPI) of 11 years on charges of murder and burglary.

Flanked by Corrections officers, he wore a grey tracksuit as he stood in the dock where only glass separated him from his mother, grandmother and girlfriend, who were seated behind him in the public gallery.

Williamson-Atkinson was asked if he had anything to say as to why a sentence should not be passed upon him according to the law.

“I didn’t do this,” he told the court.

One last family trip

At sentencing, Humphreys’ sister Taresa Keatley spoke, through her victim impact statement, of the pain and disbelief she and her parents were grappling with following his death.

“All we have now are his ashes and our memories of a wonderful, caring, considerate, and funny brother and son.”

The siblings were close as children and Keatley said that bond remained despite the two living in different countries in their adult years.

She said Humphreys, a former Royal Air Force serviceman from the United Kingdom, returned home in 2019 to visit his family.

“The four of us - mum, dad, Adrian and myself - booked a hotel for a few days. The family was back together.”

They went fishing, played cards and dominoes, and spent hours talking over coffee.

“Little did I know that this would be the last time I would see Adrian.”

Humphreys’ parents, Rose and George Humphreys, also provided a victim impact statement in which they said no parents should ever outlive their children.

Tears now flow for the couple almost daily, with their grief bringing them to their knees both mentally and physically, they said.

“It hurts deep down that we could not be there for his funeral, knowing we could not say our goodbyes properly.”

Following his funeral in New Zealand, Keatley returned to the UK with his ashes and the family held a memorial service for him at the church at which he was christened.

His parents said it was full of people from his school days, colleagues, and people from New Zealand.

“That was the impact he left on people; happy, caring, ready to help. We loved him so much.”