Manslaughter verdict in murder trial of teen

One of two teenaged girls involved in the fatal stabbing of a man in a Hamilton street has been found guilty of his manslaughter.

Her co-accused was found not guilty. The 16-year-old and a 14-year-old have been on trial in the High Court in Hamilton, charged with murdering Norman Kingi, 54, who died after the incident in Ra¯ nui St, Hamilton, about 11.30pm on Friday, July 28 last year.

The Crown case against the pair alleged they were the elder two of three girls – at the time aged 15, 13 and 12 – who were caught in the act of breaking into a Nissan Primera owned by Kingi and his partner, Vicki-Lee Reihana, which was parked outside their house.

The couple caught the youngest girl, while the other two ran off – only to return soon after armed with a knife and a screwdriver.

There was a confrontation and it is alleged the oldest girl, who had the knife, stabbed Kingi in the heart, fatally injuring him.

The older girl was found guilty of manslaughter and will be sentenced on December 17. She was remanded in custody and her name suppression will continue until that date.

As the jury read out their verdicts, the 16-year-old dissolved into tears.

As she left the courtroom, family members called out: ‘Love you’’.

The 14-year-old was granted permanent name suppression.

Speaking for Kingi’s family, police Detective Inspector Graham Pitkethley said they had accepted the verdict and were glad the case had come to an end.