Rotorua man angry at justice system

Gary Franklyn of Rotorua believes his brother's murderer got away with the killing of a Tauranga man. Photo / File

A Rotorua man is angry that the man who murdered his brother "got nothing" for orchestrating the killing of a Tauranga businessman in 2011.

Joseph Russell Rewiri, 45, was handed a nine-year prison sentence in the High Court at Rotorua on Friday for the manslaughter of Gary Kimura. The 44-year-old was assaulted at his home and died in hospital from his injuries some time later.

Rewiri, aka Jody Rutledge, was serving a life sentence at the time for murdering Peter Franklyn in Rotorua in 2006. From prison, he enlisted Witeri Neketai, 36, to collect a $31,000 drug debt from Mr Kimura. Last week, Neketai received a life prison sentence for murder with a non-parole period of 13 years.

Rewiri's nine-year term is to be served concurrently with his life sentence, a punishment that has disgusted Peter's older brother, Gary Franklyn.

"He will be sitting in his cell laughing his head off, he got off with nothing and I just can't believe that the law system would allow this," he said.

"When I heard what he got, everything we went through just came back and I feel for the [Kimura] family. I feel really deeply for them because we've gone through the same thing. We know what they are going through, we know about the sleepless nights and the anger."

In sentencing, Justice Timothy Brewer said he could not impose the maximum sentence of life for manslaughter as Rewiri was already serving a life term. "However this will be taken into account by the parole board when the 14 years [non-parole period] expired."

Mr Franklyn said it didn't surprise him his brother's killer played a role in another man's death. "I was shocked when I heard [about] the murder, but I knew he was capable of it."

He said the latest sentence had re-opened old wounds and he had been struggling to sleep. "For six to seven months after Peter's death I wasn't able to work or do anything really and had to really pull myself up. My brother and I were very close and spent a lot of time riding Harley Davidson motorcycles together going on runs and being with clubs.

"I've stopped all that now, since Peter is gone it's not the same. "