11 Mar 2022
R v HEREMAIA [2022] NZHC 443
- Citation
- [2022] NZHC 443
- Court
- High Court
Defendant was convicted of manslaughter and, on the evidence, participated in a sustained and brutal group assault but in a less dominant role than co-offender Rafferty; there was insufficient forensic basis to safely infer he used or was aware of knife use; a nine-year starting point appropriate for his culpability was reduced by a 25% global personal factor discount (blindness, cognitive impairment, serious illness) and a two-month discount for restrictive bail conditions, producing a final sentence of six years and seven months' imprisonment.