An Auckland man who sparked nationwide outrage and widespread protests after stabbing to death a newlywed dairy worker in the course of a robbery has pleaded guilty to murder. 

Ōtāhuhu resident Frederick Gilbert Hobson, 35, fatally attacked Janak Patel in November 2022 while stealing a cash register from the Rose Cottage Superette, a family-run pink-painted neighbourhood icon in Sandringham. 

The 34-year-old victim had just days earlier moved from Hamilton with his wife to look after the business while its owners were overseas. His death sparked rallying cries from small business owners and employees for the government to ramp up efforts to combat crime - after what many said had been years of feeling decreasingly safe in their jobs. 

The anguish and anger sent a message the nation’s top politicians couldn’t ignore. Then-Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern was among the policymakers who attended Patel’s funeral, as was National MP Mark Mitchell, currently serving as Police Minister. 

Hobson stood in front of Justice Mathew Downs in the High Court at Auckland this morning as he entered the guilty pleas to murder and aggravated robbery, his voice so quiet it could barely be heard across the courtroom. 

Janak Kumar Kalidas Patel was stabbed to death in Auckland suburb Sandringham in November 2022 while overseeing a dairy for its owners, who were travelling overseas. 

He had been scheduled to go to trial in May. Instead, he will be sentenced in June, the judge announced. 

Police were called to the dairy at 8.05pm on November 23, 2022, after Hobson took the cash register armed with a knife. Patel was stabbed several times as he confronted their thief about 100 metres from the business. 

Vigils, protests 

As the police cordons remained in place in the days that followed, hundreds of people gathered outside the dairy to express their shock and remorse - some placing floral arrangements to remember Patel. 

“Dairy shop owners are extremely fearful for their lives,” Dairy and Business Association chairperson Sunny Kaushal said at the time, blaming a soft-on-crime approach that he reckoned left criminals with no fear of authorities. “Running a business in this country has become very difficult. 

• Police plea for public to help after Sandringham homicide and robbery
• Explained: Why the Sandringham dairy where a man was killed didn’t qualify for a fog cannon
• Three men charged with murdering Rose Cottage Superette worker Janak Patel
• Third man accused over fatal Sandringham dairy robbery pleads not guilty to murder
• Over $100,000 raised for Janak Patel's family following tragic death

“The government has blood on its hands. [It] owes answers to the worker’s family.” 

The sentiment was echoed in Hamilton, where dairy workers gathered to stand in solidarity with Patel. One worker told Newshub the situation was at its worst in more than two decades. 

Dairy owners across the country later held a protest in which they closed shop and stood outside their businesses for two hours to highlight the dangers they faced. Ardern, meanwhile, said Cabinet would discuss what more could be done to combat crime. 

Murder defendant Frederick Hobson, who fatally stabbed Sandringham dairy worker Janak Patel in the course of a robbery, appears in the High Court at Auckland in 2022. Photo / Michael Craig 

“Sitting amongst his family and friends.. brings back the fact that a life has been taken and family’s lives have been shattered,” Ardern told TVNZ’s Breakfast after hugging Patel’s widow at his funeral. 

She acknowledged that more work needed to be done to speed up the implementation of retail safety measures such as fog cannons. 

Entrepreneurial dream snuffed 

Patel grew up in the Indian state of Gujarat and spent a decade living in the United Kingdom after completing his education. 

He immigrated to New Zealand, joining wife Vijeta after a lengthy separation due to the Covid-19 border closure, just seven months before he died. 

The newlyweds had dreamed about someday running their own business, mourners were told during his funeral in Wiri. 

Police outside the Rose Cottage Superette in Sandringham, where worker Janak Patel was stabbed to death during a robbery in November 2022. Photo / Dean Purcell. 

He was described as a “true family man” who was grounded in religion, loving and “cared for everyone around him”. 

His death hit too close to home for many, said Mitesh Dhanji, who emceed the funeral. 

“We all come from immigrant families,” he said. “We have seen hardship which we shouldn’t have to.” 

In the immediate aftermath of the killing, before any arrests had been made, Patel’s sister said she needed justice for her brother. 

“We urge the New Zealand Government to urgently catch the criminal who has taken our brother’s life and hold the murderer accountable and give him the toughest punishment,” she said. 

Some of Patel’s family members watched today’s hearing remotely via an audio-video feed, as did Detective Inspector Scott Beard, who oversaw the case and attended Patel’s funeral. 

Two other men were arrested and initially charged only with aggravated robbery, but their charges were later upgraded to murder. Both of the other men have pleaded not guilty and await trial. 

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 US and New Zealand.