Source: Radio New Zealand
Jonathan Trubuhovich was found injured at Mt Eden prison on 29 November, assessed by on-site medical and taken to hospital. RNZ / Diego Opatowski
The family of a man who died 10 days after allegedly being assaulted by his cellmate at Mt Eden prison want Corrections to be held accountable for any failures that led to his death.
Jonathan Peter Trubuhovich died in Auckland City Hospital on Tuesday. The 69-year-old’s death is the third homicide investigation involving inmates in double-bunk cells at the prison since September last year.
A spokesperson for the Trubuhovich family says they are in “shock” at his death.
“We do want Corrections to be held accountable in any area where there has been a lapse in oversight where procedure wasn’t followed.
“This is the third one, we don’t want this to happen to another family. We don’t want Jonathan to have died without some sort of progress in Corrections.”
RNZ has obtained several documents in relation to Trubuhovich’s criminal history, which details nearly 200 convictions, mainly for shoplifting, burglary and other theft as well as convictions for assault.
He was remanded in custody to Mt Eden prison on 7 May and was due to be sentenced in the Auckland District Court on 15 December on charges of burglary by night, shoplifting and disorderly behaviour.
Court documents state the offending occurred between 1 and 6 May this year.
The burglary involved entering a person’s property about 3am on 1 May and eventually leaving with two bikes worth more than $5000.
The first shoplifting incident was on 4 May when he stole a box of condoms and a litre container of ice cream from a supermarket.
On 4 May Trubuhovich entered a Mobil petrol station and was asked to leave after causing a minor disturbance.
He returned about 10 minutes later and the store worker called police.
Trubuhovich took offence to this and punched the staffer with a closed fist in the left arm once. The victim suffered no injuries.
Then, on 6 May he stole a handbag from a Louis Vuitton store worth $4700.
The disorderly behaviour charge related to an incident where he yelled and behaved aggressively towards a bus driver and spat onto the bus doors.
Trubuhovich’s lawyer James McGilvary obtained a drug and alcohol report for his sentencing.
The report, seen by RNZ, said he was a man whose life had been “shaped by lifelong addiction, persistent offending, and entrenched antisocial behaviour”.
“He reported intravenous heroin use from a very young age and has maintained a pattern of substance dependence ever since, including long-term use of methamphetamine, amphetamines, cannabis, and alcohol. His offending, both past and current, appears closely tied to his addiction, either through intoxication or the need to fund his drug use.”
Trubuhovich had spent much of the past six years in prison with only brief periods out.
“He advised of early ties with criminal groups, including the Mr Asia syndicate and the Hells Angels, which he appears to have operated on the periphery of.
“Despite his troubled past, he maintains strong relationships with his children and extended family, who remain concerned for his well-being due to a noted decline in psychological presentation and behaviours.”
Trubuhovich expressed regret for his offending and repeated behaviour’s post-release, the report said.
“He has committed family support, a plan for housing and financial independence, and is open to AOD [Alcohol and Other Drugs] rehabilitation. Supporters seek guidance and hope for a psychological assessment pre-release.”
The report said Trubuhovich had a strong relationship with his children and was “well-loved” by his family.
“He has long been known as a loving and gentle person, someone who was great company and deeply valued within his family.”
He had used substances consistently since he was at least 14.
“This has caused significant harm to his health, relationships, and ability to maintain employment.”
His brother told the report writers that the family was worried he would get hurt or hurt someone else.
“We really want to support him, and are happy to do whatever he needs to do that, but we need to know what it is that is going on for him, so that we can have the right support for him.
“The last four of five years, we’ve noticed the psychotic behaviours getting worse.”
Family want answers
Speaking to RNZ, a family spokesperson said they understood Trubuhovich was likely to be released at sentencing due to time served.
“We had accommodation, we had a whole lot of things set up for him which we had been trying to do. We were looking forward to him coming out so that we could house him and rehabilitate him and do all sorts of things.”
The family noticed about five years ago his behaviour changed and became more “irresponsible and erratic” and were trying to get him help.
They have a series of questions they want answered by Corrections including when he was injured.
The spokesperson said they were aware of Trubuhovich’s criminal history.
“It doesn’t reflect the person we knew, he got mouthy and lippy because he was institutionalised.
“When he was with us he was fun. He loved life, he loved his family.”
Mt Eden Corrections Facility (MECF) general manager Dion Paki earlier told RNZ that staff found Trubuhovich had been injured at 10.40am on 29 November.
He was assessed by on-site medical and taken to hospital.
“The alleged perpetrator was immediately secured and placed on directed segregation.”
In a statement to RNZ, McGilvary said Trubuhovich’s death was “entirely preventable”.
“Overcrowding in correctional facilities, driven by government policies mandating stricter enforcement against criminal activity, has resulted in historically high incarceration rates.
“This situation is compounded by insufficient oversight attributed to staffing shortages. Consequently, inmates are spending extended periods in confined spaces, increasing the likelihood of incidents.”
He said Mt Eden Correctional Facility was “currently the largest provider of mental health care in New Zealand”.
Unless additional government resources are allocated to address mental health issues-particularly within the incarcerated population-and appropriate treatment facilities are established, it is likely that similar incidents will continue to occur.”
Police have confirmed a homicide investigation is under way.
MECF acting general manager Edith Pattinson acknowledged the man’s death had been a “difficult and distressing time for his loved ones and our thoughts remain with them”.
“Police are investigating and Corrections is also carrying out a full review into this incident. An investigation by the independent Corrections Inspectorate will also be carried out. If these investigations and reviews identify areas where we need to strengthen our processes, we are absolutely committed to acting on these with urgency.
“We can confirm the victim was in a shared cell and that the suitability of this placement is part of our review into this matter. Understandably, the victim’s family will have questions they would like answered.”
Corrections had been in regular contact with the man’s family, and once the review was complete they would share the findings with them when they are able to do so.
Corrections’ review would look into what risk assessments were done such as the Shared Accommodation Cell Risk Assessment (SACRA).
RNZ earlier revealed there had been two suspected murders, both involving double-bunked cells, in nine months at the prison.
Corrections use the SACRA tool to review the compatibility of individuals before they were placed in a shared cell.
The SACRA tool identified key risk factors to consider before placing a person in a shared cell.
If a person was deemed not suitable to double bunk, a Not to Double Bunk (NTDB) alert was activated on their profile.
Corrections custodial services commissioner Leigh Marsh earlier confirmed he requested a review of the SACRA process which was under way.
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– Published by EveningReport.nz and AsiaPacificReport.nz, see: MIL OSI in partnership with Radio New Zealand
