Guilty of manslaughter

Shaun Finnerty who died in the Auburn Reserve last February.

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A High Court jury has blamed Thomas Tihema Christie alone for the manslaughter of 16-year-old runaway Shaun Finnerty-Gallagher who was found almost naked, beaten, and dead in a suburban Christchurch park in February last year.

Christie reacted badly when the verdicts were read in the High Court at Christchurch late this afternoon, after the jury had been considering its verdicts since Tuesday, in deliberations that lasted 14 hours.

The jury freed 32-year-old Sonny Avon Rehu, acquitting him on charges of manslaughter and indecent assault, but convicted 26-year-old Christie on both charges.

Christie swore and slammed out through the door to the cells, to be held in custody awaiting sentence by the trial judge, Justice Graham Panckhurst, on December 4.

Rehu was released after about 21 months in custody. Both men had been unemployed, and were living rough in the streets and parks at the time of their arrest.

They were originally charged with assault, which later became murder charges. The charges were downgraded to manslaughter on Monday after a ruling by Justice Panckhurst following legal argument after the end of the crown case.

Mark Zarifeh and Barnaby Hawes appeared for the Crown. Mark Callaghan and Kerry Cook appeared for Rehu, and Margaret Sewell and Ruth Buddicom appeared for Christie.

The jury was told how Mr Finnerty-Gallagher had been drinking and stealing with the group in the hours leading up to his death. The Crown said Christie was angry with him for ''narking'' when a shoplifting raid on a liquor store went wrong.

The jury heard evidence that Christie had smashed his nose with a heavy blow afterwards at Auburn Reserve.

The Crown said that he had died of positional asphyxiation at the park after the beating, because of the way he was lying, his high level of intoxication, and the fact that his airways were compromised by the blood and swelling from the broken nose.

Justice Panckhurst thanked the jury, saying it had been exemplary for its patience, good humour, and attention throughout the four-week trial.

- NZPA