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The High Court at Wellington has granted an application for a plea change by a man who admitted killing Wanganui toddler Jhia Te Tua.
The court has suppressed its reasons for doing so.
The application to vacate the guilty plea was heard by the court on Monday.
Hayden Wallace pleaded guilty in April to murdering the two-year-old, who was hit by a bullet from a high powered rifle fired at her house in May last year.
Through his lawyer, Paul Mabey QC, Wallace later sought to withdraw the plea.
A second man, Karl Unuka Check, also pleaded guilty to Jhia's murder in April and later applied to vacate that plea.
The High Court decided in June to allow that to happen and he now faces a trial.
Several other men who were involved in the gang tensions which culminated in the shooting have already received prison terms over charges related to the incident.
- NZPA
