By Ric Stevens, Open Justice reporter of 
Kathleen Kawana's body was found in an empty house near Ruatoria on 3 August 2019. Photo: Open Justice / NZME
This story describes family violence and murder and may be distressing to some readers.
A homicide unsolved for five years was resolved on Friday, when a man pleaded guilty to murdering his partner.
Ri Charles Raymond Nikora, 48, appeared in the High Court at Napier and admitted murdering Kathleen Lorna Kawana, 45, sometime between 20 and 22 June 2019.
He also admitted injuring her with intent to injure - a representative charge for the violence he inflicted on her over the three years before her death.
Justice Dale La Hood remanded Nikora in custody for sentencing next month.
Nikora and Kawana formed a relationship in 2016 but continued to live in their respective houses in Flaxmere and Titahi Bay.
Kawana was last seen alive at her Titahi Bay home on 20 June 2019.
On 3 August that year, more than six weeks later, her decomposing body was found about 600km from her home in an abandoned farmhouse southwest of Ruatoria, dressed only in her blue checked dressing gown.
Body found by property's new owner
It was found by someone who had just bought the property.
Kawana's body was lying on a mattress and two camp stretchers were on top of her, covering her up.
The abandoned farmhouse was well-known to Nikora, who had spent time in the area while growing up.
A Crown summary of facts said that Nikora had left Kawana's Titahi Bay home with her in his car sometime on the night of 20 to 21 June.
"It is not known whether she was alive or dead at this time," the summary of facts said.
Police analysis of Nikora's bank records and CCTV footage showed that he drove from Titahi Bay, to Woodville, then to Hastings, Gisborne and finally to Ruatoria.
"Either at Titahi Bay, or somewhere between Titahi Bay and Ruatoria, Mr Nikora assaulted Ms Kawana, causing her injuries which led to her death," the summary said.
"Mr Nikora placed Ms Kawana's body in the boot of his car, either while she was injured or dead."
Nikora accidentally opened the boot while trying to open his fuel flap at a Gull service station in Hastings early in the morning of 21 June.
He is seen in the footage rushing to close the boot of the car and looking around to see if anyone had seen anything.
On 23 June, Nikora sent a message to Kawana's daughter using her phone and pretending to be her, as if to explain her absence.
It concluded: "No WiFi or txt chat you wen I can."
It was not unusual for Kawana to be away from home as she often travelled to Hawke's Bay to be with Nikora. No efforts were made to find her initially as family members assumed she was in Hastings.
Despite their close relationship, Nikora was not arrested for his partner's murder until May 2024, nearly five years after she died.
The arrest followed the piecing together of an evidence trail and forensic work, including testing of seven cigarette butts and a soft drink bottle found near Kawana's body. Analysis found Nikora's DNA on them.
Kawana's DNA was also found in the boot of Nikora's car, after he had sold it to someone else.
A Warehouse receipt was found near the body. It was for a hoodie that Nikora was later wearing when he took a selfie on the inter-island ferry.
Jealous and controlling
During their relationship, it became clear to people who knew them that Nikora was jealous and controlling of Kawana.
The summary of facts describes multiple incidents of violence and assault, including one where he beat her unconscious and performed CPR to revive her.
A relative who saw her later that day said she had bruising all around her neck and face, and her eyes were bloodshot as if she had been strangled.
On another occasion, a teenage friend witnessed Nikora punching Kawana repeatedly in the face and putting her in a choke hold until she "went limp".
The young man was too scared to intervene.
Family Violence
- Women's Refuge: 0800 733 843.
- It's Not OK 0800 456 450.
- Shine: 0508 744 633.
- Victim Support: 0800 842 846.
- HELP Call 24/7 (Auckland): 09 623 1700, (Wellington): 04 801 6655.
- The National Network of Family Violence Services NZ has information on specialist family violence agencies.
*This story originally appeared in the New Zealand Herald.
