KEY POINTS:
A High Court jury took less than an hour today to find a 26-year-old man guilty of murdering a teenager in South Auckland 2-1/2 years ago.
Jeffrey Alailima Key was found guilty by the jury in the High Court at Auckland of murdering Riki Mafi, who died after being bludgeoned with a metal baseball bat in Otara town centre on September 2, 2006. He died two days later.
Key was in a group which attacked 17-year-old Mr Mafi, who the crown says was mistaken for being a street gang member and was in the wrong place at the wrong time.
The jury of 10 women and one man retired after Justice Helen Winkelmann summed the 12-day trial up this morning and returned with its verdict before 1pm, less than an hour after retiring.
It was the second trial for Key. The first trial was abandoned after evidence implicating other people in the attack was received.
Four others were subsequently charged but the charges were later dropped.
Mr Mafi's mother Linda Beduhn was delighted with the verdict.
"Second time round you don't hold the same trust and to come out with what we've come out with is excellent," she told Radio New Zealand.
"There should never be the wrong place at the wrong time. We shouldn't be on guard as to where we can and can't walk or what colours we can wear."
Investigation head Detective Senior Sergeant Dave Pizzini was pleased with the verdict and said police efforts to deal with youth gangs in South Auckland was bringing improvements.
"The results in South Auckland have borne that out. We've made significant impact in reducing violence on the street that's been caused by inter-gang violence."
Crown prosecutor Kevin Glubb said during the trial that Key struck Mr Mafi so hard with a baseball bat that he felled him, and that he then kicked him before being dragged off by other members of his group.
He said the incident began when two people at Otara town centre told a woman they wanted a knife to stab someone in a youth gang at a nearby address. The woman subsequently went to the address to tell the gang about what she heard.
The gang, including Key, then went to Otara town centre, where they set upon three people. They included Mr Mafi, a passerby who was only there because he had been asked for some cigarette papers.
Key's lawyer Marie Dyhrberg argued her client did not have murderous intent and there was reasonable doubt whether he struck the fatal blow.
Ms Dyhrberg told the jury yesterday that there was evidence to suggest Key was not the only member of the group that approached Mr Mafi that night who was swinging a baseball bat.
Key will be sentenced in April.
- NZPA
