Man jailed after fatally stabbing friend over missing tobacco

Bruce Wirihana-Hawkins was fatally stabbed in February last year. Photo Supplied

A Hastings man has been sentenced to 4 years 2 months in prison for stabbing a a friend and neighbour to death in a rage fuelled by alcohol and methamphetamine.

Bruce Wirihana-Hawkins was 30 when he died in the driveway of his home in Lumsden Rd, Hastings, early on the morning of February 8 last year.

He left behind his partner and six children aged under 14 years.

Vaughan Robert Davies, aged 43 at the time, admitted stabbing Mr Wirihana-Hawkins during a brief drunken confrontation, but claimed it happened in self-defence and there was no intention to kill.

During the trial in March, Crown lawyer Cameron Stuart told the jury Wirihana-Hawkins was stabbed over a "missing packet of tobacco".

The deceased had received a single 13cm deep wound piercing the heart.

Davies denied a charge of murder and at the trial before Justice Christine Grice was found not guilty, but guilty of manslaughter.

On Thursday the Judge agreed with Crown and bereaved whanau assertions of a lack of remorse but took into account that Davies had at an early stage indicated he would plead guilty to manslaughter if the prosecution did not proceed with the murder charge.

Davies gave evidence at the trial at which the deceased's partner said she was inside at the time of the incident, which happened as Mr Wirihana-Hawkins argued in response to an accusation that he had taken Davies' son's tobacco.

Holding a photo of him as she gave evidence she told of hearing him cry out "Babe. Babe", and going outside where she saw him take his last breath.