Young robber 'brutally' ran over businessman after fatal stabbing

When Auckland businessman Ahmed Al-Obaidy realised he was being robbed at knifepoint by three young adults – all wearing foiled electronically monitored bracelets – whom he had allowed into his BMW, he pleaded with the trio not to hurt him.

But minutes later, after he was instructed to park the vehicle outside a Pt England reserve, he would be punched repeatedly by teenager Joseph Patolo.

Then he was stabbed by Howard Te’Ao as Amy Joy Parker, who had lured him to the robbery with a promise of sex, sat by.

The victim stumbled into the roadway and collapsed, bleeding from what would have been a fatal wound in itself, as the defendants then got back inside the station wagon, a judge noted today as all three appeared for sentencing in the High Court at Auckland.

CCTV footage of the incident showed the victim’s prone body was clearly illuminated by his own headlights as Te’Ao drove his car away.

“Mr Te’Ao drove forward deliberately, driving over Mr Al-Obaidy and dragging his body beneath the vehicle for a distance of approximately three metres,” court documents state.

“The act of driving over Mr Al-Obaidy caused further significant damage to Mr Al-Obaidy.”

The fatal robbery has been previously reported, but for legal reasons the final act of brutality by Te’Ao, who turned 23 last week, has not been outlined until now.

“You ran him over as he lay helpless and dying in the road,” Justice Grant Powell told Te’Ao today as he considered whether to impose a 17-year minimum term of imprisonment for the “high degree of brutality and callousness” of the killing.

But based in part on Te’Ao’s youth and troubled childhood, the judge decided by a narrow margin to instead order a life sentence with a minimum term of imprisonment of 14 years and six months for the murder conviction.

Parker, now 24, and Patolo, 21, were each sentenced to four years and 10 months’ imprisonment after the Crown agreed to drop murder charges against them in exchange for guilty pleas to manslaughter.

Al-Obaidy’s family had earlier asked for sentences that showed no mercy for the defendants. They should be “so absolute, so unwavering, that it serves as a warning for generations to come”, the court was told.

‘Totally helpless’

Court documents show all three defendants should have been confined to their homes when the killing occurred in October 2024.

Te’Ao had been recently released on parole, after a prison stint from age 19 to 21 for another robbery, and was awaiting trial for new charges of assault and wilful damage.

Parker, meanwhile, was serving a sentence of home detention and Patolo was also on electronically monitored bail.

Howard Te'Ao appeared in the High Court at Auckland after he was charged with the murder of businessman Ahmed Al-Obaidy. Photo / Michael Craig

Parker had previously met the victim online and had arranged to meet him that night for sex in exchange for cash, alcohol and tobacco.

“Should we do this [racial expletive] over ... ????” she then asked in a message to Te’Ao, her boyfriend, suggesting that they “take his car and all of his stuff, ayy”.

Al-Obaidy picked up Parker around 9pm after having purchased beer, wine and cigarettes and having withdrawn $100 cash, court documents state.

The two went to one of Al-Obaidy’s vacant rental homes in Unsworth Heights before picking up Te’Ao and Patolo around 10.30pm, after Parker suggested they all attend a party together.

Shortly thereafter, as Te’Ao sat in the back seat behind Al-Obaidy, he pulled out a 32cm kitchen knife and held it to the victim’s neck.

Al-Obaidy was assaulted and killed a short time later, with a knife wound puncturing his liver and abdominal aorta.

Patolo had not been aware of the plan to rob the businessman before getting in the car, but he was responsible for the first act of violence, the judge noted today.

Parker’s case, meanwhile, was the opposite: she knew of the robbery plan but did not inflict any violence.

All three of them should receive prison sentences for the roles they played in the robbery and homicide, Crown prosecutor Ryan Benic argued.

Justice Powell agreed, noting that Al-Obaidy would have been “extremely vulnerable” when a knife was pressed to his neck from behind while driving and “even more totally helpless” once he collapsed in the road.

Defence lawyer Mark Ryan, representing Te’Ao on the murder charge, acknowledged that such a brutal killing would usually qualify for a 17-year minimum term of imprisonment.

But his client’s youth and his “torturous upbringing” would make such an outcome manifestly unjust, he argued, noting that his client had written a letter of apology to the victim’s family.

Amy Parker pleaded guilty to manslaughter after she lured businessman Ahmed Al-Obaidy to a robbery in which he was stabbed to death by Parker's boyfriend. Photo / Michael Craig

Parker, too, had a difficult upbringing marred by a mother who abused drugs when she was pregnant, defence lawyer John Munro noted.

Although she had some successes in her youth, managing to become an Auckland champion in shot put, she ended up living on the streets at an early age.

Parker asked to read a letter of apology aloud in court, but the judge declined, noting that he had already seen it.

Her lawyer asked for an additional sentence reduction based on whakamā, a Māori term relating to her family’s shame.

While their roles were different, Justice Powell emphasised that all three were ultimately responsible for the “senseless and tragic death”.

‘A family wronged’

Al-Obaidy was remembered as “the heartbeat” of his extended family.

In a victim impact statement read aloud by prosecutors today, the victim’s brother said he did not write out of “blind rage” but wanted sentences that would send a strong message.

“He was a boy whose laughter echoed through our halls, whose pranks were legendary, and whose intelligence was only ever surpassed by his kindness,” the sibling said, describing Al-Obaidy as someone who “embodied everything that is good and noble in this world”.

“I recall, with profound pain, the day our family gathered to bid him farewell as he embarked on his journey to New Zealand - a land of safety and dreams,” the brother continued.

“My father, with the wisdom of a man entrusting his prized possession to the world, looked him in the eye and said, ‘Do not be a burden upon them. Offer your every skill, love your community, build your family upon the pillars of love, and raise your children to be citizens of the world.’

Joseph Patolo appears in the High Court at Auckland, where he was initially charged with murdering businessman Ahmed Al-Obaidy. He later instead pleaded guilty to manslaughter. Photo / Michael Craig

“Ahmed honoured that command with every fibre of his being. He worked tirelessly... His reputation was untarnished. He was a pillar of the community, a beloved friend and the pride of our name. This was the man you extinguished. This is the soul you have stolen.”

The brother noted that since Al-Obaidy’s death his company – “the very vessel of his family’s survival” – had been sold at a loss.

“The release of even one of you, or a lenient sentence, would be a profound injustice,” he continued.

“To show mercy to the merciless is to send a chilling message to the world: that the life of an honest man is cheap ...

“Justice ... is the only answer to the void you have carved into our existence.”

The brother asked for the most severe penalty for the defendants so his brother’s sacrifice wouldn’t be in vain.

“Let it show that the blood of the innocent cries out for justice, and that we, as a civilised society, will always answer that call.”

He signed off the statement “with the grief of a sibling and the fire of a family wronged”.

Craig Kapitan is an Auckland-based journalist covering courts and justice. He joined the Herald in 2021 and has reported on courts since 2002 in three newsrooms in the United States and New Zealand.