Whanau of murdered Northlander Kimble Moore rapt with murder verdict

The whanau of Kimble Moore say they can now move on after Rawden Yates was yesterday convicted of his murder.

A guilty verdict won't end the pain for the family of murdered Far North man Kimble Moore, but it will help them move on with their lives, his brother, Joseph Moore, says.

Yesterday Rawden Yates, 37, was found guilty of the murder of fellow Tribesmen gang member Kimble Moore, 48, in March 2016 after a three-week trial in the High Court at Whangārei.

Joseph Moore told the Northern Advocate the whanau is rapt with the verdict and hope a sentence is given to Yates that reflects what he had done to Kimble.

Joseph said the past two and a half years had been traumatic for the whanau, particularly his father, who had now lost two sons to violence within a few months of each other.

His 57-year-old brother, Gary, is the subject of a second, unrelated murder trial. Gary Moore was found dead in his Otara home after a fight in the early hours of July 31, 2016.

Joseph said: "Gary died not knowing that we'd found Kimble.''

''It's really hit mum and dad hard. Dad couldn't make it up the hill at Taupo Bay for Kimble's funeral. We'll get him up there this year though and we can think about his unveiling now,'' Joseph said. ''I'm the only son left now."

He said the guilty verdict and sentencing will help the whanau move on, though they would never bring Kimble back.

''We can start to heal though and move forward. This chapter is now closed. We've found my brother, and it's something we never thought would happen after he was left out there, but it was a test of his mana and his mana was strong enough that we found him.

''He (Yates) had plenty of time to take Kimble to hospital, but he was just ruthless.''

He said the whanau wanted to thank the Crown prosecutor Mike Smith and the team of police who investigated the case, particularly Detective Senior Sergeant Rhys Johnston, Detective Senior Sergeant John Clayton and Jess Beckett.

''They were all great with us. We also want to thank all those people who came out and helped search for Kimble.''

After the verdict was read out yesterday Justice Mathew Downs thanked Moore's whanau for the dignified way they had conducted themselves while the verdict was read.

Outside the courtroom members of Moore's whanau hugged Crown prosecutors and police officers involved in the case.