Police seek Haami Hanara, teen killer with quashed murder conviction, warn not to approach

Haami Hanara, 21, is a convicted killer who committed manslaughter at the age of 14. He's wanted by police.

A 21-year-old killer who had his murder conviction quashed is wanted by police.

Haami Hanara, who is thought to be in the Flaxmere area, is wanted for arrest.

Police warn that Hanara should not be approached.

He is 168cm tall, of medium build and has a cast on his right arm.

Police urge the public to call 111 immediately if he’s seen. Use reference number 250719/1721.

Hanara was only 14 when he knifed homeless man Kelly Donner to death.

He was 19 when he was freed, having had his murder conviction quashed.

Hanara was one of a group of youths who attacked Donner when he was sleeping rough in Flaxmere, Hastings, on the night of March 4, 2018.

Hanara was holding a knife and stabbed the 40-year-old man four times – in the upper chest, left shoulder and twice in the neck. One cut severed his carotid artery and another hit his jugular vein.

Donner fell to the ground and the rest of the youths stomped and kicked him before running off. Donner died at the scene.

Hanara was sentenced to life imprisonment for murder in 2019, but that conviction was later quashed by the Court of Appeal.

He admitted manslaughter and was sentenced by Justice Christine Grice in the High Court at Napier.

She imposed a sentence of two years and seven-and-a-half months in prison, meaning Hanara was entitled to immediate release from prison on the time served for his earlier conviction.

The court was told that Hanara had no memory of his mother and spent most of his childhood with his father. Oranga Tamariki was involved in his life when he was 6 months old.

Hanara used drugs regularly from the age of 9 and has been diagnosed with foetal alcohol syndrome, attention deficit hyperactivity disorder and intellectual disability.