Man guilty of manslaughter

A man who stabbed his ex-wife and then fatally ran over a woman who went to help her has been found not guilty of murder, but guilty of manslaughter and of attempted murder. Soafa Niumagumagu denied attempting to murder his former wife Puapuaga Matamua, murdering her colleague Sagaia Kaisala, and assaulting Abdul Riyaz with his car in Ma¯ngere Bridge, South Auckland, in June 2019. After a three-week trial and four hours of deliberation, a jury in the High Court at Auckland yesterday found him guilty of the attempted murder of Matamua, guilty of the manslaughter of Kaisala and not guilty of assault. The Crown’s case was that Niumagumagu arrived at Matamua’s workplace, Oji Fibre Solutions, ‘‘angry’’ about their marriage breakdown. He waited for his ex-wife beside her parked car, then stabbed her with a metal object. Niumagumagu then ran Riyaz down with his car. Meanwhile, Kaisala had gone to Matamua’s aid and was mopping the blood from her face. Niumagumagu then accelerated his car down the street. Kaisala tried to run but was hit and pushed into a parked car.