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A Te Awamutu man who fatally stabbed his former partner and her new boyfriend has been found guilty on both murder charges.
It took a jury of six men and six women more than four hours to deliver the verdicts in the High Court at Rotorua late today.
Jason Reihana, 35, used provocation as a defence to charges of murdering Teresa Gunn and Andrew Grabner at Tauranga on December 11, 2005.
Reihana told the court on Friday that he had intended to kill himself, before he burst in and found his former partner with another man at Ms Gunn's home. A week earlier Ms Gunn had ended her five-year relationship with Reihana by text message.
Summing up to the jury earlier today, Justice Raynor Asher said if they found Reihana was acting under provocation then the stabbings would be manslaughter not murder.
Before the jury's verdicts were read out, Justice Raynor Asher appealed to members of Ms Gunn's and Reihana's families and supporters in the public gallery to refrain from any emotional outbursts.
He said it would be difficult whatever the outcome and urged them to "bear it with stoicism".
"I ask you to maintain the dignity of this court's process."
However, there were audible gasps of relief and tears from Ms Gunn's family.
Her sobbing sister Miriama Kohu, who was living with Ms Gunn at the time of the stabbings, hurried sobbing from the court.
Her partner, Wiki Ngarimu, was also stabbed while trying to protect her and their baby daughter.
At the opening of the trial last Monday Reihana pleaded guilty to a charge of wounding him with intent to cause grievous bodily harm.
The Grabner family from Northland and Auckland were not present at court.
Reihana's parents comforted each other and were consoled by others when the two murder verdicts were read out.
Outside the court, Ms Gunn's father Dave Gunn said: "We are just rapt. It's what we wanted. We would have been very disappointed if they (the jury) had come back with manslaughter."
It had been a "bloody hard" 17 months since the murders, Mr Gunn said.
But despite today's convictions "nothing is going to bring Teresa back".
He said his family had a deal of sympathy for Reihana's parents and sisters.
"It's going to be very hard for them."
Ms Gunn's two young sons were being cared for by Reihana's mother, their grandmother Violet.
"They have lost their mother and now their father," Mr Gunn said.
"Violet is good with them. They seem content and have been getting counselling."
Reihana's parents were too upset to speak to NZPA.
Reihana, who remained impassive while the jury delivered its verdicts, was remanded until June 29 for sentencing.
- NZPA
