Neil Raymond Swain has been found guilty of the murder of Wanganui man Whetu Hansen.
The jury reached its verdict this morning at the High Court in Palmerston North just over 12 hours after retiring at 11am yesterday to deliberate.
Swain, of Palmerston North, had pleaded not guilty to killing Mr Hansen in November 2013. The Crown said Swain, 58, shot Mr Hansen five times after an argument, stored his body for 10 days, then sealed it in a 44-gallon drum before dumping it in the Whanganui River.
The defence argued that Mr Hansen arrived at Swain's Akers Rd property already fatally wounded and that the Crown had only proven he was an accessory after the fact.
