The teenage babysitter who murdered a nine-year-old boy in the western Southland town of Otautau last year has been sentenced life in prison in the Invercargill High Court today.

The murderer, who can now be named as 16-year-old Daniel Alan Cameron, was fifteen when he strangled and stabbed nine-year old Hunter MacIntosh in his bedroom on October 30 last year. 

He appeared before Justice Rachel Dunningham and was ordered to serve a minimum of 11 years of his life sentence.

Justice Dunningham deducted time off the defendant’s sentence on account of his youth, the fact he entered a guilty plea early and the need for him to have an appropriate opportunity for rehabilitation. 

She did say, however, that she saw little evidence of remorse from Cameron but acknowledged this could be on account of his immature age.

Hunter MacIntosh’s mother Amy King, who said her son was the “other half” of her cried throughout the court appearance and when the sentence was given.

“My reality is that it’s a constant struggle to function,” she said during her victim impact statement.

“We [Hunter and I] did everything together. I made sure Hunter knew how much I loved him.”

“I have no regrets except for leaving him with Daniel that evening… now I have to live with that forever.”

Ms King, who was 28 weeks pregnant at the time of the killing, said if it wasn’t for her new-born son Dawson, she didn’t know if she would have had the strength to keep going on with life. 

Hunter MacIntosh's mother Amy King leaves the courthouse following today's sentencing, clutching her baby son Dawson.

Cameron either stared straight ahead or looked down as Hunter’s other family members read aloud their victim impact statements. He did not make eye contact with any of them, even as they spoke directly to him in the dock. 

Cameron was known well to the Ms King and her family and had baby-sat Hunter around 10 times before the night he killed him. 

According to a police summary of facts, on Wednesday, October 30, 2019, Cameron’s mother and Hunter’s mother and stepfather had arranged to play pool at a local Otautau hotel that evening – which was a normal activity for the two families. 

Cameron's mother dropped him off at the family home on Eton Street around 6pm and continued to the hotel to meet Hunter’s parents. 

Cameron and Ms King exchanged several text messages throughout the evening as Ms King liked to keep updated on how her son was doing.

“He [Cameron] knew I’d come home if he didn’t reply [to me],” Ms King said. 

Around 7.40pm Cameron was seen walking down Rye Street, not far from Eton Street. He sent a final text message to Ms King just before 8pm. 

At 8.30pm Cameron sent a Snap Chat message to three of his friends saying, “what would you do if I killed someone?”.

At 10.10pm Hunter’s mother texted Cameron asking if her son was asleep – he did not respond. 

Ms King arrived home around 10.30pm that evening and found her son lying on his bedroom floor at the foot of his bed with a “25cm chef knife embedded into his stomach”.

The pathologist stated the cause of death was due to stab wounds to the chest and abdomen, resulting in blood loss, and concurrent asphyxia from neck compression (strangulation).

After finding her son dead, Ms King then ran from the house screaming. 

“The sight of finding Hunter dead haunts my days,” she said.

“His was brutally murdered in that room… his face was so pale. I knew there was nothing I could do.” 

Ambulance staff and members of the police arrived at the scene and Hunter was soon pronounced dead. Early stage rigor mortis and the post-mortem suggest that Hunter had been killed within 90 minutes of being in Cameron’s care. 

Just after 11pm, Cameron was seen walking towards Otautau on the Riverton-Otautau Road and was picked up by two men driving towards Otautau.

About 11.29pm he arrived at his home and was arrested at 12.28am on October 31.

Cameron had no previous convictions, nor had he exhibited any negative behaviour to lead anyone to believe that he could be capable of such an act. 

Defence lawyer Bill Dawkins said he still did not know why Cameron had killed Hunter that evening but said Cameron had told him he was “sorry”.

Cameron was assessed by psychiatrists and psychologists and reports concluded that, aside from exhibiting some personality traits that could be conceptualised as “mildly autistic”, he had no metal issues.

His behaviour could not have been predicted by anyone, including his family, Mr Dawkins said.

Justice Dunningham mentioned that Cameron had been abused as a pre-schooler, but he had “no memory’ of the event.

She also said she believed Cameron must have “severe anger issues,” as she read aloud the summary of facts which stated Cameron had said Hunter had been “really annoying” the night he killed him. Hunter had been playing with a toy that made a loud ringing noise, which frustrated Cameron as he said, “it was making a really annoying sound” and Hunter “wouldn’t stop [playing with it]”.

Cameron must serve a minimum of 11 years before he will be considered for parole.

Justice Dunningham thanked Hunter’s family for their strength in reading allowed their impact statements in court and said the loss of a child is a tremendous pain that is unimaginable and every parents’ “worst nightmare.”

Hunter MacIntosh’s family issued a statement following the court appearance, saying today’s sentencing was “another small step on a very long journey”.

“No punishment administered by the Justice system will ever allow us to see Hunter’s beautiful smile again, nor does it dull the extreme pain we all feel every day he is not here.”

They described Hunter as a caring, sensitive young boy who only wanted to help others and got upset when he saw other children being bullied in school.

“We would like to thank the Otautau community for their ongoing support and kindness which has been amazing,” it reads. 

Detective Sergeant Mark McCloy said investigating the death of a child, particularly in these circumstances, always took a tremendous toll on those involved.

“I want to acknowledge the exceptional professionalism and resilience the first responders and investigative team demonstrated throughout,” he said.

“I also want to thank the Otautau community, which was instrumental in investigating this crime and holding Hunter’s killer to account.”

Mr McCloy said Hunter’s family had shown remarkable strength in the face of incredible tragedy. 

“Today’s sentencing may be the end of the court process but it will not be the end of their grief.”