An Auckland man has been sentenced to a little over two years in prison after accidentally running over and killing his partner, the mother of their six children, on Christmas Day 2021.

Charlotte Tyrrell, 28, died shortly after falling under Marcellin Siliai’s ute while trying to stop him driving off.

He was heading to buy a packet of cigarettes and repeatedly accelerated despite the fact she was reaching through the window into his car.

The court heard Siliai inflicted a pattern of violence upon Tyrrell, which she hid from her family. A prosecutor said the violence only emerged during the police investigation into her death.

Tyrrell’s parents, who are now caring for the children, read tearful victim impact statements before a packed public gallery in the Auckland District Court on Friday.

They and other family members described Tyrrell as a hard-working and much-loved mum who supported her young family.

Tyrrell’s family sat on one side of the gallery while the family of Siliai, who stood with his head bowed in the dock, sat on the other.

“I am still making the lunches for her children every morning, and bringing them to school, but she is no longer here,” her father John Tyrrell said.

“I miss my daughter … she was a constant in my life.”

Marcellin Siliai in the dock during his sentencing in the Auckland District Court on January 20, 2023, after admitting dangerous driving causing death. Photo / George Block

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Tyrrell said he arrived to see his daughter’s lifeless body illuminated by the lights of police cars on the road, covered by a blanket.

He remained at the scene all night with other family members.

A neighbour told him she had comforted his daughter as she lay dying.

“After listening to the neighbour, I had some reassurance that Charlotte was not in a lot of pain. She was not alone.”

Her older brother James Tyrrell, himself a father, told the court he and his family remained deeply affected by his sister’s death.

“Reality hit when I saw my dad standing over a white sheet in the middle of the road.”

He was asked to help identify his sister’s body.

“We were only allowed to see one side of Charlotte’s face. The other side was gone,” he said.

Siliai, represented by Cameron Fraser, appeared before Judge Evangelos Thomas for sentence today after earlier admitting driving dangerously causing death. He faced a maximum penalty of 10 years in prison and a $20,000 fine.

Prosecutor Fiona Culliney said the Crown sought three and a half years or up to four years. In the Crown’s view prison was the only appropriate penalty, Culliney said.

The fact he repeatedly tried to drive forward to try dislodge and fling her from the vehicle was an aggravating factor, she said.

But Fraser said his client did not try to fling her from the car by accelerating, but it was a “momentary but fatal error of judgment”.

“For his children’s sake, he’s pleading with the court today to consider a sentence of home detention,” Fraser said.

Siliai submitted a handwritten letter of apology to the court addressed to Tyrrell’s family.

“If I could give my life for Charlotte, I would do it in a heartbeat,” he wrote.

“I’m sorry, more than anything, that I’ve taken my children’s mother away.”

But Judge Thomas said a repeated instance of dangerous driving killed Tyrrell.

“You tried it, it didn’t work, and yet you did it again.”

Judge Thomas adopted a starting point of three and a half years in prison, with a 25 per cent discount for his early guilty plea.

While the judge accepted Siliai was genuinely remorseful, he said he had to balance that against his admitted poor conduct at times during his relationship, which affected the level of further discount.

The final sentence was two years and four months in prison.

Judge Thomas said the harm Siliai’s actions had wrought upon the children was immense.

“These will always be kids who have lost their mum.

“It is a darkness that will follow them forever.”

Late on Christmas Day 2021, Tyrrell had been drinking at Siliai’s home in Rosamund Ave, New Windsor, with his extended family, according to the summary of facts.

Siliai returned home after visiting a child he has to an ex-partner.

Under the mistaken impression no one had seen him arrive, he decided to get cigarettes before joining his family.

At some stage, Tyrrell saw Siliai and followed him to his car.

Judge Evangelos Thomas sentenced the man on Friday. Photo / Sam Hurley

As Siliai started the car, and began to accelerate, Tyrrell ran to the front of the vehicle to try and make him stop.

Tyrrell accused him of planning to head back to his ex-partner’s house and the couple got into shouting match. Tyrrell put her hands through the top of the driver’s side window to try and force it down. Siliai drove the car forwardto dislodge her, but stopped shortly after.

She reached for the keys in the ignition and Siliai drove forward again.

When he accelerated she fell onto the road, under the vehicle and Tyrrell was run over by the rear driver’s side tyre.

Siliai stopped and tried to help her but she died on the road shortly after.

“What was meant to be a happy, family-filled day ended in our worst nightmare,” Tyrrell’s family earlier told the Herald.

“She was loved by many and even though she was only 28, her network reached far and wide, with many friends and people who knew her.

“She was outgoing, funny, kind and protective of those she loved. She has left a hole in our hearts and lives that we don’t know how we will fill.”

Judge lets family decide on photo

At sentencing, Judge Thomas took the unusual step of allowing Tyrrell’s family to decide whether he should grant an application by the Herald to photograph Siliai in the dock.

He said the media had a crucial role in the court system, acting as the eyes and ears of the public and ensuring accountability.

However, Judge Thomas said open justice principles had to be balanced with the interests of her young children, who had endured “what must be the worst possible thing for these kids go to through”.

“If they are going to themselves be affected by the publication of their father’s photograph that would be enough to say no.”

He adjourned sentencing briefly to allow the family time to liaise with a victim’s adviser as to their preference.

When the hearing resumed, a prosecutor told the court the children were “very well supported” and they and the family had no issue with a photo of Siliai being taken in the dock.