By TONY WALL
Police have admitted they botched an interview with New Zealand's youngest murder accused, which led to confessions the boy made being thrown out of court.
They will update their training on child interviews after the Court of Appeal ruled that they breached the rights of Bailey Junior Kurariki, aged 12 when he was charged with the murder of pizza delivery worker Michael Choy.
"We stuffed up and we have to admit it," said Detective Sergeant Rob Glencross, one of the officers involved in the case.
"There's no question we didn't do things as well as we should have. You have to be so careful with someone that age.
"What makes it worse for us is that we knew it would be a difficult interview, but we still didn't get it right."
Kurariki, now 13, was found not guilty of murder but guilty of manslaughter after a five-week trial in the High Court at Auckland. He will be sentenced on September 13. His lawyer intends to appeal.
Mr Glencross said it was impossible to know whether Kurariki would have been found guilty of murder had the jury heard the admissions.
Police have said that he played a major role in the killing. Three days after the crime he confessed to his part - then went back to the scene and took part in a video reconstruction.
He showed detectives how he and a group of friends had planned the ordering of the pizzas and how he had acted as a customer - allowing another boy to hit Mr Choy from behind with a baseball bat.
But before the trial began the appeal court ruled the admissions and the video inadmissible because police had not gone far enough to ensure Kurariki had an adult of his choice present during the interviews, as required by the Children, Young Persons and Their Families Act.
During the trial the Crown relied on statements Kurariki made to friends. A video confession by Alexander Tokorua Peihopa, in which he described how he swung the baseball bat, stood and he was found guilty of murder.
Mr Glencross said the appeal court ruling would be included in police training.
The interview itself was not ruled to be overbearing.
"We lost on a procedural error on our part."
The error occurred after Kurariki and his father had been taken to the Papakura police station for questioning three days after the killing.
When it became apparent the father was a potential alibi witness, the officer in charge decided he was not suitable to be Kurariki's support person during the upcoming interview with the boy.
Instead of offering Kurariki the chance to choose a replacement, police called in an "independent" person from a list of "community-minded" people they had trained to sit in on youth interviews.
Kurariki declined to speak to a lawyer. He initially denied being with the group that had attacked Mr Choy but after a couple of hours of questioning admitted he was there.
Kurariki's trial lawyer, Frank Hogan, argued that the woman who was brought in to act as a support person lacked independence and competence for the role.
The trial judge, Justice Robert Fisher, found that police had failed to explain all of Kurariki's rights to him, but there had been reasonable compliance with the act, and he allowed the admissions to stand.
But the Appeal Court panel said it was fundamental that a child have the "special protection" offered by a parent or adult family member during interviews. That person could interject to press the need for taking legal advice.
Police had excluded Kurariki's mother and adult sister as support options without good reason - "a major lapse".
Police regret 'stuff-up' of BJ interview
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