Maketū murder: family tried to take murdered boy from Aaron Izett

The day before the body of Maketū’s little Nevaeh Ager was found, her great-grandparents had planned to take her away from her “erratic” father and alleged murderer, a court has heard.

John Sturgess and his wife Nicky Sturgess

testified in Rotorua High Court today.

Nevaeh’s father, Aaron George Izett, 38, is on trial for the murder of the 2-year-old boy in Little Waihi, Maketū, between March 20 and 21 last year.

Izett has not denied causing the fatal injuries, but has denied killing his daughter, whose naked body was found by police in the marshes.

on March 21, 2019.

The Crown alleges that Izett’s “methamphetamine rage” led him to kill his daughter and assault three other people between March 18 and 21, 2019.

Nicky Sturgess told the court today that she and her husband had visited the home of Izett and her ex-partner Alyson Ager in Tio Pl about four times and Izett was often

blowing on his pipe and

“ranting and raving” about all his stuff on the wall and a treasured book about his ancestors.

Sturgess said that she and her husband were concerned Izett was out of work and was using drugs, and that most of the upkeep of the house would be for Ager’s benefit.

“We told him that he needed to fix his things, get a job and support his family.”

“We threatened him that if not, we would go back and take Alyson

and Nevaeh back to Flaxmere, “he told the court.

Ager gave birth to her and Izett’s second child

on March 18, 2019.

Sturgess said

she and her husband bought gifts and headed to Tio Pl two days later.

“We were going to take Nevaeh and Aaron to the hospital to see Alyson and the new baby, but he

He told us to get out and go, “he said.

She said that when she entered the house to use the bathroom, she had to step over a mess.

Nevaeh, with a big smile on her face, ran to her great-grandmother, who took the child in her arms.

“I told Nevaeh that I would take her to her mom.”

She said Izett was unhappy due to the earlier tensions and during the heated discussion that followed, her husband was punched in the side of the head and in the shoulder area.

The two men then exchanged blows and Sturgess intervened. As the couple drove away, Izett threw a handful of rocks at the car, the court listened.

He told his granddaughter in the hospital that he did not want her to come home.

“But Alyson was confident that Aaron would take care of Nevaeh,” he said.

“However, in my mind, I wasn’t going to leave him there and we were going to go back to the house to pick up Nevaeh and take them both back to Flaxmere.”

But on the way back to Little Waihi, Ager got a call from Izett’s mother in Australia.

“I could hear Alyson yelling on the phone about what was going on.”

She said that when they reached Little Waihi, the police officers were already there.

John Sturgess said that he and his wife had difficulty communicating with Izett even when he and his granddaughter lived in Flaxmere.

“Aaron was a pretty aggressive type of person to hang out with. We certainly had pretty strong arguments from time to time. His behavior was erratic, he was abusing substances and he was out of character most of the time.

“One of the main problems I raised with him was being unemployed and not actively looking for work and he seemed quite happy to navigate and shrugged.”

He said Izett was “quite shaken” when they arrived on March 20 and refused to allow the boy to be taken to the hospital, telling them to “f-off.”

“Nevaeh was happy to see her grandmother, and she looked as good as gold. It was the last time we saw her alive,” Mr. Sturgess said through tears.

When Izett refused to allow them to take Nevaeh away, they decided to go to the Te Puke Police Station to seek help, especially given Izett’s response.

During questioning of Izett’s attorney, Nicholas Chisnall, Sturgess confirmed that he described Izett’s behavior on March 20, 2019 to police as “crazy and delusional.”

“He was obviously very agitated and responded, but I don’t remember what he said.”

John Sturgess said Izett must have thought the boy was going to be taken away permanently because of the ultimatum above.

“Nevaeh was well dressed and cheerful. I didn’t think Aaron would hurt that kid.”

Crown attorney Anna Pollett previously said the girl was the victim of “assault, assault, assault” before she drowned.

A pathologist will give evidence that Nevaeh had suffered multiple serious injuries to her body caused by a weapon or weapons.

He had injuries to his buttocks, face and head, including lips and ears, and between eight and ten blows. He also had neck injuries indicating “degree of strength.”

The Crown alleges that after Izett placed Nevaeh’s naked body face down in the water over marshes, he placed two large rocks on top of her and she drowned.

The trial continues.