Boxer admits party killing

A woman boxer beat a man to death because he upset the party plans she had with her partner, a court has been told.

Masterton woman Diamond Orupe's victim, Koria Steven Matiaha, 25, was left slumped and unconscious on his front lawn in Stuart Cres soon after the beating on June 4.

He died of severe brain injuries in Wellington Hospital three days later.

In the Masterton District Court, Orupe, 21, a trained boxer, admitted manslaughter. She stood in the dock next to her partner, Te Whairangi Biddle, 20, who pleaded guilty to an assault charge.

The court heard Biddle and Matiaha were wrestling and Biddle kicked Matiaha three times. Orupe then punched him in the face. She again punched Matiaha in the face so hard that he slumped to the ground and lost consciousness. She straddled him and punched him as he lay on the ground.

Orupe has been bailed to appear in the High Court at Wellington on December 3 for sentencing, and Biddle is on bail to be sentenced in the Masterton District Court on December 10.

- NZPA