Man jailed for murder seeks appeal

A man convicted in a retrial for beating a woman to death with a softball bat in 1992 is looking to appeal.

Teina Pora, now 35, is planning to appeal his 2000 conviction for the rape and murder of Susan Burdett, 39, in her home in south Auckland on March 23, 1992.

A Parole Board report said an appeal could be forthcoming because "there may have been an injustice in Mr Pora's case", the Sunday News reported.

Pora, a Mongrel Mob prospect, was first convicted in 1994 for Ms Burdett's death in a home invasion involving a number of offenders.

But the Court of Appeal quashed his conviction five years later after Auckland serial rapist Malcolm Rewa was found guilty of raping Ms Burdett. A jury could not reach a verdict on whether he was involved in her death.

Pora was found guilty again in a 2000 retrial of Ms Burdett's murder. He was sentenced to a minimum non-parole period of 13 years, later reduced to 10 years.

An early release application by Pora was declined on February 10, but it said there were "complications about his conviction" aired by lawyer Jonathan Krebs and a prison case officer, an ex-policeman.

Pora made videotaped confessions to police, but his lawyer in the 2000 trial, Marie Dyhrberg, said they was made by a 17-year-old trying to get some of a $20,000 sum offered as a reward.

The Parole Board said in its report that it was time for Pora to take gradual steps towards his release, but noted that he still said he did not murder Ms Burdett, which meant he could not attend a Violence Prevention Unit which could aid in possible early release.

Mr Krebs said he could not comment.

- NZPA