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A man who beat to death his convicted sex offender stepfather and then set fire to his house has been jailed for 5-1/2 years.
Jamie Stewart Davies, 31, had been found guilty by a jury in the High Court at Hamilton in October of the manslaughter of Ngaruawahia man Allan Wallace Davies, 57, in September last year.
In sentencing Davies yesterday, Justice Graham Lang said he did not believe he went to his stepfather's house with the intention to inflict violence on him, the Waikato Times reported.
"I believe you went there to confront him, but had not made the decision you did until you got there.
"The jury made it clear his death was not intentional."
However, Davies had taken a life and the fire had caused such destruction to the body that "even in death (Allan Davies) was not left with any dignity", Justice Lang said.
During the trial defence counsel Paul Mabey QC told the court that Davies had never intended to kill his stepfather.
Mr Mabey said Davies had gone to his stepfather's home to confront him over his historic sex offending.
The court was told Allan Davies had been due to be sentenced in Hamilton District Court after he was found guilty of five representative charges of committing indecencies with a girl under the age of 12.
Jo Davies, sister of the dead man, told the newspaper she was disgusted at the length of the sentence.
She said she would "like to see him rot in jail ... or at least spend 10-14 years there".
- NZPA
