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The family of Stanley Waipouri, slain in a vicious assault in 2006, are relieved justice has finally been done.
"We got him," Mr Waipouri's sister told the Manawatu Standard last night as she walked from the High Court at Palmerston North Court after a jury found a teen guilty of the murder.
She said it had been a long wait, but the result was worth it.
"This is what we wanted - justice. I would have wanted another hung jury rather than have a not guilty verdict."
The jury found 18-year-old Andre Gilling guilty of murdering Stanley Waipouri in his flat two years ago.
Gilling had pleaded not guilty to the murder, in Palmerston North in 2006.
A trial last year failed to reach a verdict.
Gilling's co-accused Ashley Arnopp pleaded guilty in 2007 to murdering Mr Waipouri and was jailed for life with a minimum non-parole period of 15 years.
Mr Waipouri, 39, was found dead, naked from the waist down, in his Palmerston North flat on December 22, 2006.
He died from head and neck injuries after being kicked, punched and stomped to death for over an hour.
The tip of his penis and an earlobe were also missing.
Gilling, then 17, and Arnopp were found by police in the blood-stained flat and charged with murder.
During their trial in December, Arnopp pleaded guilty and the jury returned a hung verdict on Gilling.
Last week Gilling's retrial began in the Palmerston North High Court.
Gilling is to be sentenced on September 12.
- NZPA
