Full Breakdown
Margaret Green Sentenced for Manslaughter of Partner Selwyn Robson
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Manslaughter Conviction and Sentencing
Margaret Jovander Green was found guilty of manslaughter after stabbing her partner, Selwyn Robson, with a 20 cm serrated knife in their Manurewa home. The blade penetrated more than 9 cm into his neck, damaging multiple blood vessels and causing rapid blood loss; Robson died at the scene. Justice James MacGillivray ruled that the jury’s rejection of self-defence indicated the force used was “excessive and unjustified.” He set a starting point of four years and three months’ imprisonment, applied a combined 20 % discount for background, remorse and rehabilitation, and an additional 15 % discount for an earlier guilty plea offer, resulting in a final term of two years and nine months.
Background of Margaret Green
Court-ordered reports detailed a turbulent upbringing for Green. She entered state care at age 9 and experienced physical and emotional abuse. By age 12 she was introduced to cannabis, and at 13 to methamphetamine. She left school, entered escort work at 17, and later endured multiple abusive relationships, including a 2018 incident that required hospitalisation for a traumatic brain injury. A psychiatrist testified that the cumulative trauma had given her complex post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), which can impair emotional regulation and provoke impulsive reactions.
Court Findings and Official Statements
Justice MacGillivray emphasized that the evidence did not support a claim of “excessive self-defence” and noted the absence of a coercive-control dynamic in the short, “highly dysfunctional” relationship. Crown prosecutor Aysser Al-Janabi distinguished Green’s case from other domestic-violence scenarios, stating there was no evidence of social, financial, or isolation control. The judge highlighted the importance of Green’s mental-health history in assessing culpability, while also noting that the jury concluded she neither intended nor appreciated that death would occur.
Family Impact and Reactions
Robson’s father, Patrick Robson, delivered an impact statement describing enduring grief and a desire to process the loss with humility, acknowledging Green’s family. Another brother, Arnold Robson, remembered Selwyn as “very staunch,” humble, and whanau-oriented. The family emphasized that Robson’s identity as a Black Power member was unrelated to the crime.
Verbatim Quotes
“Her complex PTSD has deprived her of the ability to fully remember or comprehend what occurred in those moments,” — Susan Giles, defence lawyer
