Into the Darklands by Nigel Latta

Author:Nigel Latta [Nigel Latta]
Language: eng
Format: epub
ISBN: 9780730491767
Publisher: HarperCollins Publishers
Published: 0101-01-01T00:00:00+00:00

Some crimes are so unbelievably callous, so utterly tragic, they almost defy belief. Some crimes make you wonder if the whole damn thing isn’t sliding off the edge. So it was with the death of Michael Choy.

On the evening of 12 September 2001, while the rest of us were coming to grips with the events in New York thousands of kilometres away, Michael Choy was making a few extra bucks delivering pizzas. He was a gentle, kind man, from a loving and respected family, and that particular night he was filling in for a co-worker at a local Pizza Hutt in Papakura, in South Auckland. Unbeknown to Michael, a bunch of kids had spent the day planning to rob him.

They’d tried a couple of nights previously with a KFC delivery driver. The plan was simple: put in a call for a delivery and when the driver arrived, hit him with a baseball bat, take the food, take the money and run.

A simple plan. Except the driver had been a woman so they’d called it off at the last minute. Michael wasn’t going to be so lucky. Three of the kids talked about it that afternoon, the youngest of whom was just 12 years old. During the early evening more young people turned up at the address they were using as their base. They drank alcohol and waited for nightfall.

When it was dark they made their way to a telephone box where one of the young women placed an order: four pizzas, two large bottles of soft drink and two large side orders. In total it came to $47.95. The young woman gave a street address at the end of the block from the house they were using as a base and said they would meet the delivery person at the end of the drive because there was a large dog on the property. Then they went to the address and hid in the darkness of the driveway.

When Michael drove up some time later he was met by a young woman and a boy standing in the driveway in the dark. They talked with him for a few moments as the young woman appeared to search for change. Then suddenly the young boy called out, ‘Go, Alex.’

Another older accomplice sprang up from behind the car and swung a baseball bat at Michael Choy’s head. Michael dropped to the ground unconscious with a fractured skull. There was a frantic burst of activity as a group of eight young people scrambled to grab the food, drinks and change. They left Michael Choy lying severely injured on the ground.

Back at the house the pizzas and soft drinks were consumed by the group. They then became concerned that if the police came to the area they would smell pizza and sprayed deodorant and fragrances in the house.

Meanwhile back out on the street Michael had regained consciousness. Despite the fact that the initial blow had shattered the left-hand side of his skull, he somehow managed to stagger to his feet and began to walk down the street.

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