The man convicted of murdering veteran reporter Derek Round in Wanganui in May 2012 is attempting to have his guilty plea withdrawn.
Michael Umanui Werahiko, 33, appeared in the Court of Appeal in Wellington yesterday where he argued that his lawyers at the time did not give him the best legal advice.
In December 2013, he was sentenced in the High Court at Whanganui to life imprisonment with a minimum non-parole period of 15 years after pleading guilty to killing Mr Round, who was a friend of his.
The 77-year-old journalist and writer was found dead in the living room of his Campbell Street home after being beaten about the head, suffering multiple skull fractures.
Yesterday, Werahiko told the court that while he had assaulted Mr Round - the former editor of the now defunct New Zealand Press Association - he had left him alive and crouching on the ground.
Crime scene photos presented to Werahiko by prosecutor David Boldt showed Round trapped under a couch with severe injuries.
Werahiko could not say how Round died because there was a nine-hour gap between when he left him and when his body was found.
When Werahiko's lawyers, Peter Brosnahan and Debbie Goodlet, were faced with the forensic results of the police investigation, they advised their client to plead guilty.
"The lawyers said it was best for me, my family and loved ones that I plead guilty to murder," he said.
"It was wrong because what they were saying was they had no defence for me."
Mr Boldt said Werahiko's lawyers were experienced and did not "sugar-coat" the situation.
Werahiko replied that the guilty plea to murder was the only option he felt was open to him.
"Clearly, they weren't up to the job."
Mr Boldt asked Mr Brosnahan if his client had ever said he did not want to plead guilty.
"Not in those terms," he replied.
Werahiko had earlier denied his involvement in Round's death, but there was "no resiling" from the guilty verdict decision before or after making the plea.
Under cross-examination by Werahiko's lawyer, Chris Tennet, Mr Brosnahan accepted Werahiko was drunk on the night of the attack, but said he could clearly describe other events that had happened earlier in the evening.
"Intoxication as a defence, in my opinion, was not available on the evidence."
He described the attack on Mr Round as one of the most brutal he had seen.
Ms Goodlet told the court Werahiko always maintained he did not intend to kill Round, but she said she told him murder was not just about intent, it was also about recklessness.
Justices Christine French, Simon France and Denis Clifford reserved their decision.