Macdonald faces sentencing on six charges

Ewen Macdonald in court. Photo / Sarah Ivey

Feilding farmer Ewen Macdonald, who was cleared of killing his brother-in-law Scott Guy, will be sentenced today on other charges.

Macdonald was found not guilty of murdering Mr Guy, 31, after a trial in the High Court at Wellington in June.

He will be sentenced on six unrelated charges when he appears in the Palmerston North District Court before Justice Simon France, who presided over his murder trial.

During his trial the jury was made aware of three other charges Macdonald, 32, had pleaded guilty to.

He had admitted burning down a home on Mr Guy's property and vandalising another home Mr Guy and his wife, Kylee, were having built.

He also admitted poaching two deer, worth a total of $17,500, from a neighbouring farm while on hunting "missions" with accomplice Callum Boe.

After his acquittal on the murder charge it was revealed Macdonald had also pleaded guilty to three further charges. He admitted he killed 19 calves by hitting them on the head after a farmer caught him and Boe poaching deer in June 2007.

He also burnt down a 110-year-old whare and emptied a vat on a neighbouring farm, causing thousands of dollars worth of milk to be lost.

It is understood Macdonald has been at Manawatu Prison since he was remanded in custody after his murder trial. He has spent 17 months at the prison since his arrest in April last year on the murder charge.