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• Cyle Jetson has been jailed for 11 years for his role in the 2017 murder of Pier Raviola.
• Jetson was part of a group that assaulted and robbed Raviola, leaving him critically injured.
• Justice Jonathan Eaton noted Jetson’s significant role in the attack and the planned nature of the crime.

As pensioner Pier Raviola lay critically injured after being dumped in a carpark, the people who attacked him callously plundered his home.

The group, including Christchurch man Cyle Jetson, rifled through his belongings, stealing jewellery and electronic devices in order to repay a debt to someone else.

Now Jetson has been jailed for his role in the attack, during which the 65-year-old victim was beaten to the point of unconsciousness before having his hands and feet bound with tape and being driven to a carpark.

He died in hospital a few days later.

The High Court at Christchurch heard this week during sentencing how Jetson was used as “muscle” to rain down punches to knock Raviola out during the planned group attack in March 2017.

A plan set in motion

According to the summary of facts, one of the women in the group was in a relationship with Raviola and had a debt owing.

So, a plan was set in motion to steal the pensioner’s car in order to pay the debt.

Jetson, who was 20 at the time, joined three others at a Bromley address to discuss the robbery.

Raviola was invited to the home that evening and set upon by the group.

Jetson and some of the others were hiding in bedrooms, Raviola was then attacked by a couple of the others in a bedroom, taking punches to the head and kicks to the stomach.

Jetson heard the shouting, and believing his co-offenders could not knock the victim out, entered the bedroom where Raviola was lying on the floor, and punched him in the side of the head and kicked him.

Raviola tried to get up and Jetson punched him again to the side of the head, at least twice, and knocked him out.

Jetson left the room and other members of the group continued to assault the victim.

The group then taped the victim’s hands and feet with masking tape and carried him from the address and placed him in the rear of his car.

Jetson and one of the others then drove Raviola to a carpark in Sumner where he was dumped.

They drove back to the Bromley address, then drove to the victim’s address, using a key taken from him to enter his home and take jewellery and electronic devices.

Raviola was taken to hospital in a critical condition on the same day and remained in a coma with significant head injuries, including several fractures to his skull and a swollen brain.

He underwent several surgical procedures and remained in a coma until he died three days later.

Jetson initially admitted his part in the assault but later denied it, admitting only to assisting in removing the victim from the property and dumping him in Sumner.

In 2020, Jetson was given a life sentence with a non-parole period of 11 years for Raviola’s murder.

However, Jetson went on to appeal his conviction before pleading guilty just before a retrial.

This week the now 28-year-old was sentenced again, this time to 11 years’ imprisonment, with a non-parole period of six years.

Pier Raviola was found with head injuries at a Sumner carpark. He later died in hospital. Photo / Barry Clarke

‘The muscle’

During sentencing, Justice Jonathan Eaton said Jetson was the “muscle” in the murder, having been “enlisted” with another male to inflict violence on the victim.

Jetson had played a significant role in knocking the victim out, making sure he was defenceless.

Crown prosecutor Deirdre Elsmore said there was callousness involved in dumping the victim’s body, then burgling his house.

Elsmore said the Crown recognised it was a lengthy trial, and they also had taken a compassionate attitude towards Jetson’s age at the time of the offence, recognising his cognitive challenges.

While he was an immature 20-year-old, it was not a spontaneous attack, it was planned, there was full knowledge of the attack, she said.

Elsmore said Jetson had shown no remorse and minimised his part in the murder.

Defence lawyer Kirsten Gray said Jetson was clearly a party to murder based on the summary of facts before the court.

Jetson had incapacitated the victim, but someone else had gone on to kill him, she said.

Gray said Jetson did not see death but foresaw grievous bodily harm.

Cyle Jetson appears for sentencing in the High Court at Christchurch. Photo / Al Williams

Justice Eaton said there had been a significant impact on the victim’s partner and children, he was missed and it was clear he was a good-natured man.

He said the Crown and defence had agreed it was manifestly unjust for Jetson to be sentenced to life imprisonment.

Jetson, now a father of three, had a lack of role models in his formative years.

“Would it be unjust to sentence you to life? Yes.”

The legal basis of Jetson’s guilty plea had been a “joint enterprise” in the murder, Justice Eaton said.

Following sentencing, police inspector Leairne Dow, officer in charge of the case, said: “It has been a long journey, and we are pleased we have some justice for Mr Raviola and his family.”

Al Williams is an Open Justice reporter for the New Zealand Herald, based in Christchurch. He has worked in daily and community titles in New Zealand and overseas for the last 16 years. Most recently he was editor of the HC Post, based in Whangamatā. He was previously deputy editor of Cook Islands News.