The jury on the Luke Tipene murder trial retired last night and will begin deliberations again today.
Vincent Angene Skeen, 17, has been on trial for the last two weeks in the High Court at Auckland and yesterday Justice Mark Woolford summarised the case.
In the early hours of November 1, the defendant stabbed Mr Tipene in the neck with a broken bottle after a Grey Lynn party saw dozens of teenagers spill on to the street.
A "glass dagger" pierced the victim's jugular vein and he died in hospital soon after.
At the outset, Skeen's lawyer Lorraine Smith - who was absent from court yesterday because of illness - conceded her client had inflicted the fatal wound but did not have the requisite intent to be convicted of murder.
Justice Woolford said that would focus the jury's attention on one critical issue - intent.
"Has the Crown proved beyond reasonable doubt when Vincent Skeen stabbed Luke Tipene in the neck, he intended to kill Luke Tipene or to cause bodily injury which he knew was likely to cause his death and was reckless as to whether death ensued or not?" he said.
"There can still be murderous intent if it is unplanned and carried out in a rage or a frenzy ... or if it is instantly regretted."
The judge outlined a number of factors the jury could look at when assessing what was going through Skeen's mind.
He suggested they consider the nature of the act itself, the type of weapon, how many times Mr Tipene was stabbed, what the teens were doing at the time, where on the body the stabs were directed and what force was used.
But Justice Woolford warned the jurors not to concern themselves with the fact Skeen had refused to give a police interview at the time or give evidence during trial.
He also warned the jury to be cautious when assessing the credibility and reliability of witnesses, 17 of whom had been on Great North Rd during the melee: "Most had drunk a considerable amount of alcohol."