Rotorua murder sentencing

The Rotorua woman who pleaded guilty to stabbing her female lover 33 times before knocking out her teeth and slicing off both her ears will be sentenced in court today.

Gwenda Leigh Sloane, 44, earlier pleaded guilty to the murder of 51-year-old Michelle Hoffman-Tamm in Rotorua last November.


The woman who admitted to the murder of Michelle Hoffman-Tamm will be sentenced today.

The factory worker, also known as Gwenda Leigh Pluss, is due to be sentenced today in the High Court at Rotorua.

The police summary of facts reveals the pair got into an argument over $20, after they had been drinking on the evening of the murder.

Slone invited Michelle round to her place where they drank beer and had sex. At some point during the evening Sloane attacked Michelle stabbing her multiple times in the chest and back, cutting off both her ears and putting one in Michelle's mouth.

Police believe most of the stab wounds were after Michelle had died including a cut across the throat and a cut from her mouth across her face.

Michelle's body lay on the kitchen floor at Sloane's house for more than a day.

On November 9, Sloane wrapped the body in plastic bags using duct tape she had also bought, and drove towards Whakatane looking for somewhere to dispose of it.

She buried the body 120km away in a 1.5m deep ditch beside State Highway 38 near Murupara, covering it in rubbish and dirt. On her return home she hired a domestic carpet cleaning machine to clean up the house.

Sloane was spoken to three times by police during their investigation into Michelle's disappearance, but she offered no help.

When police returned on November 22, Sloane confessed and led police to the body. Police say they wouldn't have found it, without her help.

Sloane told police she recalled only parts of what happened but remembered attacking Michelle, and punching her and stabbing her.

Sloane told police she had "just lost it" on November 7 when she caught Michelle stealing $20 from her wallet.

You may also like....

0 comments

Leave a Comment


You must be logged in to make a comment.