On the evening before his death, Connor went to the movies with his father and two of his siblings, William and Cordelia, to see Marvel’s Eternals.

The film finished about 11.30pm, and Cheryl picked them up. The plan was for Cheryl, who would have Connor stay at her home most weekends, to drop Connor and James home before she took the other siblings to her home in Rolleston.

Connor asked if it would be OK for him to stay in Rolleston with his siblings. James said it was fine, as long as he got to school in time.

The following day while James was at work, Connor sent him a Snapchat message saying “Is it okay if I go to a party tonight? And then stay at a mate’s tonight afterwards.”

James replied: “Yep, just be safe”.

“Okay, I will thanks,” Connor messaged back.

When James arrived home from work about 5pm Connor was there with his friends, getting ready and listening to music. The boys were excited, the party had been all they could talk about at school that day.

Before leaving, Connor said the plans had changed and asked if it was okay if he and his friends stayed at his home tonight. James said it was fine.

James can still picture what followed as Connor walked into the living room to say goodbye.

“We’re heading off now Dad,” the 16-year-old said.

“I said, have a good time mate, be safe - I love you.”

“He said ‘I love you too’, and he headed off out the door.”

The group were going to a 15-year-old girl’s birthday party on Heaphy Place, Casebook, a mere five-minute drive away.

Before going to the party they went to a Pizza Hut nearby and grabbed pizzas which they ate in the car park behind the store.

The teens then got on the Orbiter bus and headed to the party, getting off a couple of stops after Northlands Mall. They walked to Heaphy Place, listening to music on the way.

Connor had been invited by one of the girl’s friends, but sent a Snapchat to the party girl to double-check it was okay for him to attend. She replied it was.

The girl’s mother, Korin Steedman, would later tell a jury her daughter had asked to host a birthday party but she had said no, fearing too many people would come.

She eventually relented, and made several rules including no posting about the party on social media and only if it was a small group of people, anticipating no more than 20.

The party started off fine, with partygoers in the children’s bedrooms, socialising and drinking. They also made their way out to the deck.

Connor and his friends were among the first 10 or so at the party. When they arrived they went to the 15-year-old’s room to hang out. Her brother told Connor and his mate he could look after their alcohol, which was in Connor’s bag, in his room and keep it locked.

The group also made their way to the garage where other people were socialising, with music blasting in the background. A beer pong table had been set up.

Steedman had not met Connor before, but said he spoke to her and he was a “very polite young man”.

By about 9.30pm things were starting to get out of control, as large numbers of uninvited teens turned up. The exact number is unknown, however it’s believed there were about 100 in attendance.

Among the alcoholic beverages being consumed were Vodka Cruisers, Woodstock Bourbon, DB Export and Speights. Connor was drinking Nitro (vodka and guarana). He took two bottles with him. He did not get to finish his second.

As the evening went on Steedman was approached by several teens who had been beaten up, one with a bleeding nose. She had to get some flannels to help get the blood off.

A witness said fights were going on in the backyard, the cul de sac and the driveway.

The house became full of teenagers in the hallway, on the couch, and on the deck outside. Partygoers were struggling to move through the house.

“You couldn’t go anywhere,” one partygoer told the jury.

“It’s just what happens at every party to be honest,” another partygoer said about the fighting going on.

Among the partygoers was a group of teens, who were believed to be members of the Crips gang, who Steedman said were threatening her son.

Steedman said she tried to get the uninvited partygoers to leave and look for the person who was threatening her son.

She said her son had gone to a boy who had stolen a drink from his sister. The boy asked her son if he had a problem. If he did, he would stab her son, she said.

Her son then called his father, Daniel Sparks, from her phone.

Sparks was at the time with his friend Joshua Smith.

Earlier that day the pair say they found an old shotgun and had test-fired it. The shotgun was single-barrelled, had a shortened or sawn-off barrel and was a Stevens brand.

After receiving the call the two men made their way to the party in Smith’s car, a silver VW Golf, taking with them two loaded shotguns - the Stevens shotgun and a Mossberg shotgun owned by Sparks.

Sparks stayed on the phone with his son until they arrived, about 11pm.

While on his way Sparks allegedly asked his son whether the group had any weapons. The son replied that they were just kids and did not have weapons. Sparks’ son had hoped that by calling his father he would come and the crowd would disperse.

Sparks’ son pointed out the group of people acting aggressively towards him. Sparks approached them and there was a verbal argument. Gang signs were pulled and there was yelling. At this stage, Connor was standing in the driveway alongside friends and partygoers and was not at all part of the altercations.

One of Connor’s friends was standing beside him when he saw the VW pull up. He told the jury he spotted a shotgun out of the driver’s door window.

The partygoer then yelled out “he’s got a gun, get inside, get inside”.

He ran to the garage and shut the door before running inside the house.

“It was like you’re either frozen or running,” he said.

“Everyone was stressed out, no-one knew what to do… it was just their instinct.”

Another witness said she believed one of the partygoers was arguing with a man who was pointing a gun at him. She heard the teen mention the Neighbourhood Crips (NHC) gang, and the man with the gun who had mentioned Mangu Kaha. The pair were talking “quite aggressively”.

At some stage in the altercation a bottle, or bottles, were thrown at the car, one smashing the driver’s window.

Several partygoers overheard a teen who was arguing with the man with the gun, described as wearing what appeared to be a mask, yell “Just shoot me."

She did not see the gunshot go off but heard it; the sound was so loud that some partygoers reported a ringing noise in their ears.

Steedman said she heard kids screaming, “he’s got a gun, he’s got a gun”.

When she went outside there were people everywhere.

She then heard two gunshots, and hid behind a tree.

“Everyone hid,” she said.

“People were hiding everywhere they could hide.”

The Crown said at the trial it was Smith who fired the first shot, and that Sparks then got into the passenger seat and fired his shot from the Mossberg six seconds afterwards, in the air, as the vehicle departed.

One witness, who had never met Connor before, said after the gun was first spotted he saw Connor running next to him.

After the shots were fired Connor told him he had been shot. He then fell down. At first the partygoer thought Connor was having a seizure.

Steedman then walked over to where a group of teens were crowded and saw Connor lying on the ground unconscious outside the kitchen window while people were standing around him yelling.

“I didn’t know he’d been shot at this stage and I was holding on to him, rubbing his back and telling him it was going to be okay, and telling all the other kids to go away because he just needed some peace and quiet.”

One of Connor’s friends, who went to the party with him, said when he got outside he saw a bunch of people crowded around Connor saying he had been shot.

One person was pressing on his chest while another boy was giving him CPR. Another person was holding his neck before a partygoer grabbed a pillow and rested his head on it.

The friend told other people crowding around to back away and he got down and held Connor’s hand. His face was completely pale. It wasn’t until a few moments later that the friend realised several other people were also holding Connor’s hand in his final moments.

Connor, who was standing between 9 to 15 metres away when the firearm was discharged and not at all involved in the disorder, had been shot in the chest. His injuries were unsurvivable.

After the men left, the 15-year-old who was having the party was allegedly asked by one of the partygoers if it was her dad who was involved in the shooting. She said it was and she was then punched from behind, and momentarily knocked out.

Emergency services arrived shortly after.