Raymond Charles Phillimore shot Gaelene Bright— a Northland woman he had been in an intimate relationship with— until he knew she was dead and dumped her body in the Waipoua Forest.

The 66-year-old this morning pleaded guilty in the High Court at Whangārei to one charge of murder and another of unlawful possession of a firearm after pleading not guilty in June last year.

He did not hold a firearm licence.

An agreed summary of facts was read out in court by Crown solicitor Mike Smith this morning.

Phillimore and Bright had been in an intimate relationship for three years preceding her death. Both lived at an isolated property in Waimamaku which backed onto the Waipoua Forest.

Their relationship had deteriorated of late, with ongoing tension since their attendance at the Covid protests in Wellington.

Bright spoke to an ex-partner on social media on the afternoon of May 1, 2022, and a missing person’s report was lodged 10 days later by one of her daughters after concerns she had not been heard of since May 1.

Phillimore used a Toz brand .22 bolt action rifle, loaded with a 10-shot magazine to shoot Bright at the Waimamaku property on May 1. A neighbour heard what sounded like gunshots from a .22 calibre rifle between 1am and 3am on that day.

He then placed her body in a tarpaulin and attempted to load her in a Toyota Estima but the vehicle did not start. He then loaded her body into a Holden Rodeo utility and drove to an area of the forest. He manoeuvred her body over an embankment before covering it with sticks and leaves. Phillimore used a numbered 85 road marker as a reference point.

Later that day, he walked through the bush and along the road past a road maintenance team. He walked back to the area where he had left her body, moved her further away from the roadside and covered the body with sticks, fronds and ferns.

Phillimore then walked back to the house he lived in where he lit a fire and disposed of items used in the disposal of her body. They included the tarpaulin, rags used to wipe the Toyota Estima with, and the clothes he wore when he shot Bright.

Using a grinder or similar tool, he cut the barrel and the stock of the firearm he used to shoot her and left the barrel at the property.

He then packed his belongings, including the firearm used in the shooting, and told witnesses Bright had travelled to Auckland with an unknown male in the early hours of May 1, and dropped her dog with a neighbour.

Phillimore travelled south and the next day, he abandoned the utility vehicle at Te Kuiti before travelling to Napier.

On May 9, he stored his belongings including the firearm in a driftwood hut on the foreshore and went for a swim off Marine Parade in Napier. He drifted several hundred metres down the beach, leaving the cut-down .22 firearm in the hut loaded with a live .22 bullet in the chamber.

Members of the public, concerned with his behaviour, contacted police and Phillimore was taken to hospital.

His belongings were located two days later after a fire on the beach was reported.

Bright’s body was located on May 17 down a steep embankment and a post-mortem examination revealed a gunshot injury to the left of her chest and a bullet and fragments were discovered in the upper back area.

Two gunshot injuries were located inside her head.

One entry point to the left of the forehead was a trajectory through the head and brain, lodging in the back of the skull. A bullet was retrieved. The trajectory was front to back and upwards.

The second gunshot had a trajectory from back to front through the base of the skull. The bullet was retrieved from the left cheek/jaw area. The entry point was behind the left ear.

When spoken to at Hastings police station on the day her body was located, Phillimore admitted shooting Bright and dumping her body in the Waipoua Forest.

During an interview recorded on DVD, Phillimore said “I just shot her till she stopped”. He then went on to compare his actions to that of killing a dog. He shot until he knew she was dead. Bright was still alive after the first shot, he told police, and described her as groaning and gurgling. Philimore said he could have fired three or four shots.

He did not attempt to call emergency services.

Justice Timothy Brewer ordered a full pre-sentence report and remanded Phillimore in custody for sentencing on August 17.