Hillmorton Hospital patient threatened PM before murder of Christchurch woman

A patient of Christchurch's Hillmorton Hospital made a threat against the prime minister less than a year before he murdered a mother-of-four, an inquest has heard.

Laisa Waka Tunidau was stabbed to death by Zakariye Mohamed Hussein outside her Sockburn home on 25 June 2022, while Hussein was on unescorted leave.

Hussein was jailed for life, with a 13-year non-parole period, in November that year, and had previously been jailed for more than six years for kidnapping, stabbing and intimidating people across Christchurch in March 2012.

The second phase of an inquest into Waka Tunidau's death resumed in Christchurch on Wednesday before Coroner Alexandra Cunninghame.

A psychiatrist who treated Hussein between 2015 and 2022 continued giving evidence on Wednesday.

The clinician's identity was suppressed.

Counsel assisting the coroner Stephanie Grieve KC asked them about a referral they made to New Zealand's Fixated Threat Assessment Centre (FTAC) after Hussein penned several letters in late-2021.

The FTAC is a cross-agency partnership between police, parliament and the Ministry of Health, which aims to manage risks posed by people who display fixations on public figures or causes.

The court heard the letters - intercepted by Hillmorton's clinical team - referenced multiple conspiracy theories, terror attacks in New Zealand and Australia, including the 2019 mosque shootings, and threats against then-Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern and her family.

The clinician received an email in January 2022 from a fellow psychiatrist, explaining Hussein was typical of the people that were referred to the FTAC.

They added that Hussein had a "serious mental illness" and his risk was primarily towards the community and himself and pointed to situations where his risk to public figures would increase.

The clinician told the court Hussein during this period was experiencing "florid paranoid psychosis" and posed a significant risk which had extended to public figures.

This was however not the same symptoms he was presenting in the months prior to Waka Tunidau's murder, they said.

"The key thing is that I contrast that with a presentation that was completely different through those periods of time when he was experiencing what we describe as sort of transient paranoid sort of thoughts about people being a snitch or that I didn't think was psychotic in nature and that my colleagues from their notes don't describe as being psychotic in nature."

Lawyer for Waka Tunidau's family Nikki Pender asked the clinician whether additional leadership roles they took on at the time took them away from their core duties as a psychiatrist.

"Looking back with hindsight, do you think you were trying to do too much," she asked.

The clinician admitted it partially took a toll.

"I think I was a very hands-on, on the floor involved psychiatrist and I continued to be that, but I think I was there less.

"I think my one thing that was notable was that prior to taking on those roles, my paperwork was always done on the day, or released documents released straight away.

"And so that was one area where I can think back tangibly and think that I was a bit behind with that."

Earlier in the day it was revealed Hussein went to locations without permission while on unescorted community leave on 6 June and 10 June 2022.

More than 20 doctors, psychologists, psychiatrists and nurses involved in Hussein's care were due to give evidence during the inquest.

The clinician would resume their testimony on Thursday.