Life for killing his pal

Daniel Fraser and Lance Hughes were buddies.
Fraser yesterday started a life sentence behind bars for the gruesome shotgun murder of his old mate on Christmas Day 2005 after he "lost it" because Mr Hughes was in a relationship with Fraser's ex-partner.
Fraser, 45, was composed in the dock as Justice William Wilson read out his sentence - complete with a minimum non-parole period of 14 years - in front of a packed High Court in Whangarei.
Justice Wilson said Fraser went to the Grigg St house, in Kaitaia, where his ex-partner Charmaine Cameron lived, on Christmas morning and found Mr Hughes, a longtime friend, in her bed.
Fraser said during his trial this made him wild and, after initially turning to go from the bedroom, he "lost it" at seeing Mr Hughes in "his house". Fraser then grabbed a baseball bat and started swinging it at Mr Hughes but eventually lost the ensuing fight and left.
About 5.30pm that day Fraser returned to the property, smashed his way in and shot Mr Hughes, who had been sleeping on a downstairs bed, three times. The first shot ruptured Mr Hughes' aorta, causing him to die from blood loss. Fraser fired a second shot into Mr Hughes' left side and then shot him in his right buttock as he lay face-down on the ground. Fraser was found guilty of murder on July 10 after a jury rejected his plea of self-defence.
Yesterday Justice Wilson discharged Fraser on a charge of assault using a weapon because of the time he had spent in custody.
Crown prosecutor Mike Smith called for a non-parole term of 17 years for the murder, saying it involved a high level of brutality and callousness.
He submitted that Fraser's method of entry, despite Ms Cameron obtaining a protection order, was an aggravating factor. The other factors were premeditation, weapon selection and Fraser's intention to kill Mr Hughes.
Defence lawyer Christopher Comesky said his client was haunted from the fight he had with Mr Hughes in the morning which was why he returned. He said Fraser believed the house, which was beside his mother's property, was his because he had built it.
Mr Comesky argued that had police responded when they were first notified, as early as 8am,they could have saved Mr Hughes' life. He said Fraser had expressed remorse for his actions and suggested a minimum prison term of 10 years.
Justice Wilson said that, just as Fraser was entitled to have relationships with other women, so was Mr Hughes, whom he gave credit to for protecting Ms Cameron throughout that day.
He said Fraser's decision to plan and later break into the house, despite a court order and after being clearly told that he wasn't welcome, was a serious matter.
* `Like being shotin guts myself'
The sister of slain Kaitaia man Lance Hughes made an impassioned plea to the judge to send the killer to jail for a minimum 25 years for the suffering he had caused.
Deborah Thompson, who read a statement at yesterday's sentencing, told Daniel Fraser that he had shown no remorse and that he might be incapable of feeling any emotions for anyone else but himself.
"The senseless and selfish actions of how, in my mind, you gunned Lance down has left a gaping hole in our family and the impact has been colossal ... To hear you trying to justify your action was like being shot in the guts myself and feeling the pain that my brother did after the first shot, second and third."
Ms Thompson said Fraser had destroyed Christmas for a large number of people through his actions.