Bay of Plenty, Tewi Savage, jailed for life for murdering his 2-year-old daughter Arnica

A man who murdered his daughter in a Bay of Plenty river has been jailed for life.

Tewi Daniel Savage, an electrician, killed two-year-old Arnica Savage in the Rangitāiki River, at Te Mahoe south of Whakatāne, in 2018.

The 35-year-old was sentenced in Rotorua High Court this morning and will have a minimum period of 14 years without parole.

Savage was found guilty at trial earlier this year after pleading not guilty to murder in 2018.

On July 1, 2018, Tewi Savage went for a walk with Arnica to the river to calm down after having a heated argument with her mother, Santana Moses.

He pulled her into the cold water, hugged her, and let her go, which suffocated her.

Savage and Moses had been together for 15 years, but their relationship ended three months earlier.

Arnica was the second youngest of their five children.

Police were called to the Matahina dam area around 6 pm and, after an extensive search and rescue operation, Arnica’s body was found in the river around 11 pm.

Moses wept and Savage remained impassive as Crown Prosecutor Anna Pollett read excerpts from the victims’ impact statements.

Moses’ statement said, “Every morning when I wake up … I don’t want to be here” and he wondered when he would get peace.

He said he drank and smoked a lot to numb his pain, and two or three days a week he found it difficult to get out of bed.

Moses spoke lovingly of his daughter and the joy she brought to the family, Pollett said.

Arnica’s older brother’s statement said that before Arnica’s death, his life with his family was better, with plenty of food and plenty of time to “relax.”

Pollett referred to parts of the statement that said the teenager was “sad, angry and lost” the night his sister died.

In his tangi, it was “difficult for him to stop crying.”

“Nothing felt normal without her.”

He said that he often had nightmares and couldn’t sleep, thinking about what happened to Arnica.

He missed her and said that her death had changed his mother.

Pollett said the statements summarize “the true impact on this family.”

Defense attorney Shane Tait said Savage suffered from undiagnosed bipolar disorder when he killed his daughter and that he had genuine remorse and grief.

However, he acknowledged that murdering a child “can only be described as one of the most serious crimes in the law books.”

Savage addressed the court in Maori, beginning by saying, “Aroha mai, aroha mai, aroha mai.”

Her voice shook, she cried, and struggled to get the words out as she apologized.

Savage turned to the victims and their families in the public gallery several times.

Then he spoke in English and said, “I only have one word to say, sorry.”

Judge Paul Davison, QC, said Savage has caused the death of “a beautiful girl” with “a life full of promise awaiting her.”

She said that Arnica was a “particularly vulnerable child” and that her death was “a shocking tragedy.”

Arnica had been a “determined, generous and loving in life thus far” and “adored” her father, Judge Davison said.

He said Savage had been diagnosed with manic depression and bipolar disorder after the murder, but the jury didn’t think he was crazy.

However, Davison said Savage’s mental disorder reduced his moral guilt “significantly.”

He read the summary of the events, stating that Moses had started a relationship with another man, that he had been a close friend of Savage, and had hopes of reconciliation.

She had said that she would never live with Savage again.

The night before Arnica’s death, Tewi Savage’s father said he was “screwed in the head” and disturbed.

Savage woke up five times a night, singing songs out loud and yelling, “They’re coming for me.”

His parents, who lived next door, had to help him settle down and go back to sleep.

Moses had also told Savage that she was concerned about his sanity.

On July 1, she told him she wanted to move to Australia, which infuriated Savage.

He went for a walk to cool off around 4pm and told Moises to “get the shit off yourself.”

Arnica said she wanted to go with him and Savage put her in his stroller.

He carried with him a book of religious writing.

Her parents were concerned when she did not return at dusk and were joined by neighbors and others in the village to search for Savage and her daughter.

They found his clothes, his stroller, and his blanket and finally heard him scream.

He was standing naked among thick blackberry bushes.

Savage said he had “screwed up” and went to the river and let Arnica go.

He also told the police this and they found Arnica’s body 2.5 km downstream.

He had prior convictions for violent crimes for which he had community-based sentences, but none against children.

Savage would spend his life in prison with a minimum probation period of 14 years.