Victim Michelle Hoffman-Tamm 2.40PM: The son of a murdered Rotorua lesbian has broken down in court as he spoke of brutally losing his mother at the hands her lover, a woman he had known since he was a boy. Gwenda Leigh Sloane, 44, stabbed Michelle Hoffman-Tamm 32 times in Rotorua, before disposing of her body in a forest in November last year. Before disposing of Hoffman-Tamm she cut off both of her victim's ears and left the body in a plastic bag on her kitchen floor for a day while she slept. Sloane pleaded guilty of murder of the 51-year-old on December 12th and is being sentenced at the High Court in Rotorua this afternoon. Around 30 people are in the public gallery, including many of the victim’s family members and her long-time partner. Sloane nodded to her own supporters in public gallery when she walked to the dock, wearing a grey polar fleece, which she shrank behind as it was zipped up over half her face. Hoffman-Tamm’s 25-year-old son broke down as he struggled through a victim impact statement, saying “I am messed up and I struggle every day … it’s really hard that this woman has taken my mother away from my family. He added: “A part of me has gone forever …I have lost all trust in the world … my whole world has fallen apart.” There were sobs from the public gallery as the horrific nature of the stabbing and cutting injuries inflicted on Hoffman-Tamm were read out by the prosecutor, while Sloane appeared tense and her eyes moistened as she listened from behind her polar fleece.
Credit: GayNZ.com Daily News staff
First published: Monday, 4th February 2013 - 2:33pm