Body on a boat in Pilot Bay: Manslaughter accused named

Guy Hayden Clark Appleton appeared in the High Court at Tauranga. Photo / Samantha Motion

A man accused of manslaughter in the case of a body found in a damaged boat at Pilot Bay can now be named.

Interim name suppression for Guy Hayden Clark Appleton lapsed when he appeared in the High Court at Tauranga this morning.Appleton, 45, is charged with the manslaughter of apprentice builder Clayton Patrick Graves, 29, whose body was found in a damaged boat in Pilot Bay near the base of Mauao on October 5.

A police officer inspects the boat found in Pilot Bay on October 5. Photo / File

Via his lawyer, Fraser Wood, Appleton pleaded not guilty to the manslaughter charge, which alleged he caused Graves' death by failing to adhere to the provisions of the Maritime Transport Act.

He elected a trial by jury.

Woods did not seek an extension to the interim name suppression order.

Judge Graham Lang, who presided via an audio-visual link, remanded Appleton on bail and scheduled the five-day trial for August 30 next year in the High Court at Rotorua.

A case review hearing was scheduled for July 29 and a trial callover for September 23 in Tauranga.

Judge Lang said the wait for a trial date was unusually long due to the need to clear cases that were put off due to coronavirus.

Graves was an apprentice builder in Tauranga.

The body of Clayton Patrick Graves was found on a boat in Pilot Bay in October. Photo / Supplied

His mother, Lisa Graves, was in the public gallery for the hearing, holding a copy of the service sheet from her only son's funeral.

She told the Bay of Plenty Times after the hearing that she moved back to Tauranga from Australia after her son's death.