But for causing Eli's death Felise will be sentenced in February and is looking at a lengthy prison term.
Before then Eli's family may agree to meet with him for a restorative justice meeting.
In the High Court at Auckland today about 20 of Eli's family were present to hear Felise admit his fatal crime.
Crown prosecutor Brian Dickey told the court they were open to the restorative justice process.
Kirsten Holtz with a photograph of her son Eli. Photo / Greg Bowker Restorative justice is an informal conference between a victim, offender and support people.
At the conferences both sides get to discuss the offending.
For the first time today the full summary of facts was read in court.
Eli was from Whangarei but had travelled to Auckland with a mate.
He was a passenger while his friend drove around the CBD in the early hours of the morning.
They drove down Wellesley St, past Father Ted's Irish bar.
Felise had been there for some time, drinking with friends.
Eli pointed a toy water gun out the window and fired a shot which hit Felise in the back.
Myron Felise pleaded guilty to manslaughter after fatally assaulting teenager Eli Holtz. Photo / Greg Bowker When the car stopped at the nearby intersection of Queen St, Felise charged towards it.
A friend tried to stop him but could not prevent the assault that followed.
Felise pulled the passenger door open and punched Eli in the face.
He then picked up the water gun and struck Eli repeatedly with it.
Eli put his hands up to try to fend Felise off.
The older, much bigger man started to punch him in face again
Eli tried to defend himself, however his hands dropped as he lost consciousness.
The force of the punches caused Eli's head to jolt backwards and sideways.
He was seated and restrained by a seatbelt during the attack.
An associate of Felise's managed to pull him away, leaving Eli's friend to tend to him.
He asked a bystander to tell him where the nearest hospital was.
As he drove he encountered police and they helped him get urgent medical attention.
Eli Holtz died in January after being violently assaulted in Auckland's CBD. Photograph supplied It was not enough to save Eli.
He was resuscitated twice but a CT scan of his head showed bleeding, swelling and bruising to his brain.
The head injury was not survivable.
A post-mortem examination confirmed the teenager died as a result of blunt force trauma.
As the summary was read Eli's family members, holding a framed photograph of the slain teenager, wept.
Felilse showed little emotion during the hearing, which was over in about 20 minutes.
After the hearing Eli's mother Kirsten Holtz led her family from court - stopping to embrace and comfort Felise's relatives who were distraught.
She then faced media, flanked by her daughter and sister - who is Eli's biological mother.
Kirsten Holtz said the guilty plea marked the end of 10 months "anguish, grief and frustration".
The family had been buoyed by the "hundreds and thousands" of messages and support from people across New Zealand, and the world.
"It's now time for our family to reset our direction for the future," she said.
"There are no winners in this tragedy.
"We've lost our son Eli - the Felise family have lost their son for a season as well."
Kirsten Holtz said she and her family wanted to move in on a positive direction.
"We ask that you be kind to each other, look after each other, care for each other," she said.
She also thanked the police, Crown prosecutors and Victim Support for helping her family through the legal process.
"There are just no winners here," she reiterated.
Navtej Singh was murdered in 2008. The killer of Eli Holtz was charged with murder but acquitted after trial. Photograph supplied Felise was 22 when he and six other men were charged with murdering Navtej Singh during a robbery at his Manurewa liquor store on June 7, 2008.
In 2008 Felise was charged alongside his brother Tino Felise, Anitilea Chan Kee, Jason Naseri, Walter McCarthy and Eti Filoa.
After a trial in the High Court at Auckland Chan Kee was found guilty of murder.
The others were found not guilty of murder and the lesser charge of manslaughter.
