Retrial for murder accused

One of two men convicted as teenagers of beating and kicking a Hamilton beneficiary to death has had his appeal upheld by the Court of Appeal and will face a retrial.

Hayden Te Whaitirangi Tukaki, then 18, and Shane Barlow, 16, were found guilty in March 2004 of the 2003 murder of 46-year-old Robert Lockhart.

Both were sentenced to life imprisonment but the Court of Appeal has quashed Tukaki's conviction and ordered a retrial.

The court suppressed its reasons for doing so.

At trial, it was said that on August 17, 2003, the three men had been drinking at a friend's house in Hamilton before leaving in a car with another man, Jaye Smith, 42, to buy more alcohol.

After an argument about a cask of wine, Mr Lockhart was dragged from the car, kicked and punched.

He was left on the street with serious head injuries and died.

Tukaki, Barlow and the other man fell asleep nearby in the car and woke up the next morning to find police at the scene.

Tukaki and Barlow admitted assaulting Mr Lockhart but denied murdering him.

- NZPA