A 21-year-old who stabbed a homeless man to death as a 14-year-old has been located and arrested after he escaped custody at a Hastings medical centre over the weekend.
Haami Hanara was arrested shortly before 1.30pm on Monday, nearly 48 hours after he fled Corrections staff during a visit to the Hastings Health Centre on Saint Aubyn St West.
Hawke’s Bay Regional Prison general manager George Massingham said a remand prisoner fled from Corrections staff while on a visit to a medical centre at around 1.40pm on Saturday.
A review into the incident would be carried out.
Hanara was 14 in 2018 when he stabbed a homeless man to death in Hastings.
Kelly Donner, 40, died after he was attacked by a group of youths while sleeping rough in Flaxmere. Hanara stabbed him four times, twice in his neck, severing his carotid artery and leading to his death.
He was initially found guilty of murder and sentenced to life in prison, but this conviction was quashed by the Court of Appeal in 2022.
Hanara admitted manslaughter and was immediately freed from prison, given the time served for his earlier conviction.
