Connor Morris' murderer has second appeal bid rejected by Supreme Court

Michael Murray in the Auckland High Court during his murder trial. New Zealand Herald Photograph by Jason Oxenham

The man who murdered Head Hunters gang member Connor Morris in a street fight in West Auckland has lost a second bid to appeal against his conviction.

Michael Thrift Murray was found guilty of murdering Morris in August 2014 and jailed for life with a minimum non-parole period of 10 years.

Morris, who was the partner of Millie Elder-Holmes, died instantly when Murray hit him in the back of the head with a sickle, piercing his skull, during a fight on Don Buck Rd.

Murray admitted killing Morris, but denied murdering him - arguing he had been defending his brother when he killed Morris.

Murray appealed the conviction, his lawyer arguing that media interest in Morris' death led to an unfair trial because his partner Elder-Holmes was the daughter of the late broadcaster Sir Paul Holmes.

Murray's lawyer also said the jury was at risk of being intimidated into convicting Murray by the involvement of the Head Hunters. Large numbers of gang members attended court during the trial.

Connor Morris and partner Millie Elder-Holmes before his murder in 2014. Photograph supplied

The initial appeal was dismissed, with Justices Rhys Harrison, Denis Clifford and Brendan Brown rejecting Murray's claims that media coverage of the trial swayed the jury.

Murray then took his cast to the Supreme Court, seeking leave for a further appeal on three grounds.

The first was prejudice associated with pre-trial publicity and fears of retribution.

The second, whether the High Court trial Judge should have left excessive defence of another to the jury as a partial defence.

And the third was alleged errors in the summing up.

The Supreme Court has rejected Murray's bid and dismissed his application to mount a new appeal.

"The applicant's prospects of obtaining reform of the law through judicial development are too slight to warrant the grant of leave to appeal," said the Supreme Court decision, released this morning.

READ THE FULL DECISION HERE.

"The complaints by counsel about the summing up are largely the same as those advanced to the Court of Appeal.

"The complaints do not give rise to a question of public or general importance and there is no appearance of a miscarriage of justice.

"Accordingly, the application for leave to appeal is dismissed."