Killer’s tie to store murder
Man who bashed Eli Holtz had been in on deadly robbery
The man who fatally attacked teenager Eli Holtz in Auckland’s CBD in January has pleaded guilty to manslaughter and can now be named. And the Herald can reveal the killer was one of the men charged over South Auckland liquor store owner Navtej Singh’s 2008 murder.
Myron Robert Alf Felise, 30, admitted assaulting 18-year-old Eli Francis Holtz at the intersection of Wellesley St and Queen St early on Saturday, January 27. Eli, from Northland, was the passenger in a vehicle that had stopped at a red light.
Moments before the assault, he had pointed a water gun out of the window and fired a jellylike liquid pellet at Felise. It hit the older man, who thought he had been shot.
Felise approached the car when it stopped and punched Eli repeatedly in the head. Eli died in hospital the next day, as a result of the injuries Felise inflicted.
Felise was charged with manslaughter and was due to stand trial in the High Court at Auckland next week. However, he appeared in court yesterday — after sleeping in and arriving more than an hour late — and changed his plea to guilty.
Felise had been given name suppression since his first appearance in court. But after the guilty plea, Justice Gerard van Bohemen lifted the order, meaning the Herald could publish Felise’s name and dark history.
About 20 members of Eli’s family were in court for yesterday morning’s arraignment hearing, where the summary of facts was read.
A video of the fatal incident, captured by CCTV in the CDB, was also provided to the court. However, it will not be screened because Eli’s family do not want to see the footage.
Felise will be sentenced on February 28. He was supported in court by a large number of family.
Eli’s mother, Kirsten Holtz, said outside court that the guilty plea brought an end to 10 months of anguish and grief.
“There are no winners in this tragedy. We’ve lost our son Eli and the Felise family have lost their son for a season too.
“We want to move forward . . . we ask that you all be kind to each other, to look out for each other.”
She thanked the police, legal system and Victim Support as well as the thousands of people who had comforted and helped the family since Eli’s death.
After court, the Holtz family approached the Felise family and gave them hugs.
Felise and five other men were charged with murdering Navtej Singh during a robbery at his Manurewa liquor store on June 7, 2008.
Felise was charged alongside his brother Tino Felise, Anitilea Chan Kee, Jason Naseri, Walter McCarthy and Eti Filoa.
He and Naseri followed Chan Kee into the store and stole alcohol and cigarettes while Tino Felise waited in a car outside. Filoa and McCarthy acted as lookouts.
Chan Kee was the gunman, but said he didn’t mean to fire the shot that killed Singh.
All of the men were charged with Singh’s murder because police said they were party to the killing.
After a trial in the High Court at Auckland only one man was held accountable for the death.
Chan Kee was found guilty of murder.
The other five were found not guilty of murder or manslaughter.
Tino Felise, McCarthy and Filoa were found guilty of aggravated robbery. The others had earlier pleaded guilty to that charge.
They were sentenced to between six years and four months, and two years and six months for their roles in the robbery.
Chan Kee was sentenced to life in prison with a minimum non-parole period of 17 years.
He appealed that sentence, but his bid for less time behind bars was rejected.