A jury has found two men guilty of manslaughter after an innocent bystander was shot dead at a party in Christchurch.
Connor Whitehead, 16, was shot dead in the northern Christchurch suburb of Casebrook on November 5, 2021.
Two men, Daniel Nelson Sparks and Joshua David Craig Smith, were charged with murdering Whitehead.
On Wednesday the jury returned their verdicts. The jury found both men not guilty of murder, but guilty of manslaughter.
The pair will be sentenced on August 4.
After the verdict, Whitehead’s dad James Whitehead and mum Cheryl Mirren left the courtroom side by side with his siblings William and Cordelia.
The family held hands as James Whitehead addressed media wearing his white shirt with the words “Forever Connor”.
”It’s been the worst time of our lives, losing our boy, losing Connor. Having to relive that time over the past few weeks has just been hell for us.”
As for the verdict, he said he did not care.
”I don’t care what happens to those men. There is no victory here for us today, we don’t get our Connor back when we go home, so who cares. We want to move forward and we want to love our loved ones and remember Connor, remember our boy, remember our friend.
”We don’t have to think about those guys anymore, they’ve been dealt with that’s out of our hands.
”From the start, we’ve been here for Connor, and that’s the way it’s always going to be.
”We love you Connor, we miss you.”
The Crown alleged both men responded to a call for help from Sparks’ son, as the party got out of control and he was threatened, by arming themselves with loaded firearms – a Stevens shotgun and a Mossberg shotgun – in Smith’s VW Golf.
About 11pm the two men arrived at the party. Sparks’ son pointed out the group of people acting aggressively towards him. Sparks approached them and there was a verbal argument. Gang signs were pulled and there was yelling.
Two shots were eventually fired, one from each of the firearms, one by each of the defendants.
The two shots were about six seconds apart. The Crown said the most likely scenario was that Smith fired the fatal shot that struck Whitehead and that Sparks fired a shot from the Mossberg into the air, likely from the car.
Whitehead was shot in the chest. His injuries were not survivable.
In his closing address, Smith’s lawyer, James Rapley KC, said the trial had been “difficult and distressing.
“Connor Whitehead was totally innocent, his killing was shocking, senseless, and should never have happened.”
Smith accepted it was his fault and that he was responsible for Whitehead’s death, but that it was manslaughter, not murder.
“Mr Smith never intended to kill Connor. Mr Smith never intended to cause Connor harm, and he never thought that Connor or anyone else would be likely to die.”
In his interview with police, Smith lied and said he did not fire any shots. Rapley said members of the jury needed to take care they did not jump to conclusions from his interview.
He said the Crown argued Smith was guilty of murder in three different ways. That Smith intended to kill Whitehead, or that he intended to cause him bodily harm and knew that firing a gun was likely to cause death and knowing that consciously ran the risk he might die.
Alternatively, the Crown argued that Smith discharged the firearm with the object of threatening to cause grievous bodily harm and when he did that he knew that firing a shotgun was likely to cause someone to die.
Rapley added the Crown had not proved that when Smith fired the shotgun he knew it was likely to cause the death of a partygoer.
He argued Smith was trying to scare and intimidate the uninvited partygoers.
He said why two grown men would take guns to a party was “hard to fathom” and was wrong, but just because they took them did not mean they intended to use them.
Smith was “reckless” and “foolish” in shooting the gun hoping the crowd would disperse, he said.
“The fact he caused Connor’s death does not make him guilty of murder.
“Mr Smith did not intend to shoot Connor, he intended to shoot away from the crowd in the street, he didn’t know when he shot the gun it was likely to cause death.”
Sparks’ lawyer, Donald Matthews, said Whitehead’s death was an “absolutely senseless tragedy”.
“When Mr Sparks answered his son’s call, he didn’t think that anyone would die. He didn’t intend for anyone to die, didn’t foresee anyone would die.”
Sparks could not and must not be found guilty of murder as a party, Matthews said.
“When the men arrived he exited the car, he was unarmed and set about trying to cool things down. The fatal shot was then fired by Mr Smith in circumstances that were entirely unexpected and unanticipated.”
Whitehead’s death went “well beyond any common purpose”.
The jury could not safely conclude Sparks knew a killing could well happen when they went to Heaphy Place.
Matthews said it was not disputed that Sparks was a gang member.
“He’s more than a gang member, he’s a father, a partner, a valued employee.”
Matthews said “all hell had broken loose” at the party before the men arrived.
Sparks was “completely wrong” taking a firearm to the party. However, his actions had to be taken in the context of taking a panicked call and acting “impulsively”.
Evidence suggested that from Sparks’ perspective, things had calmed down a little when Smith fired the shot.
“Mr Sparks is an idiot, there’s no getting away from that, he responded foolishly, rashly,” Matthews said.
Crown prosecutor Barnaby Hawes said in his closing address that what happened could only be described as a “tragic case”.
“A young man killed senselessly at a party by a man he never met.”
The main issue for the jury, he said, was whether each of the two men would be found guilty of murder or manslaughter.
He said the defence cases were that Whitehead’s death was an “accident” and not foreseen by either defendant at any time.
Taking the “lethal weapons” to a party where some were intoxicated, acting erratically and violently was “always going to end badly.
“While one man fired the fatal shot, I suggest both men are criminally responsible for what happened.”
He said the Crown case against each man was different. Smith was the “principal offender”.
Before the fatal shooting Smith and Sparks agreed on a common goal, Hawes said.
“It’s not suggested an actual plan to murder or kill Connor, or anyone else. But there was a common and unlawful goal of travelling together to Heaphy Place with firearms and to confront and threaten unwanted partygoers.”
In intercepted communications after the shooting, Smith tells an associate Sparks’ son was being attacked by Crips.
“We shot over there. And then f****** 30 or 40 of them come out of nowhere and then we were getting surrounded by them, so we popped off some shots bro and we might’ve shot one of them.”
Later in the call, Sparks said: “And Josh can’t remember like f***, how high he f******, popped off a round, doesn’t seem to think he hit any, anyone … but on Facebook it’s saying that there’s, um, that someone got shot.”
Hawes also mentioned Smith’s interview with police where he “lied from start to finish”.
“I suggest you can’t accept anything he says in his interview that’s not verified by other witnesses.”
In his interview he said he did not fire any shots and shifted the blame on to Sparks, Hawes said.
“Mr Smith’s account is demonstrably false and tells you nothing about his state of mind when he fired the fatal shot.”
Smith reported his car stolen after the shooting, assisted in burying the firearms, was likely involved in burning other evidence and lied about his involvement in the shooting.
“Every aspect of his statement is untrue,” he said.
“I suggest he simply cannot tell the truth about what happened that night”.
How a resilient Kiwi village hopes to bounce back from a big drop in visitors.