A father whose 7-year-old son died a brutal death at the hands of his stepdad feels he may one day be able to forgive the killer.
Rolly Pailegutu has never met his son's stepfather, Johnny Joachim, and admits at first he had only revenge on his mind.
"Youcan forgive, but it's hard to forget," he told the Weekend Herald.
Joachim, 37, this week pleaded guilty to murdering Duwayne Pailegutu at the Nelson house the family had lived in since shifting from Auckland last year.
Emergency services were called on July 2 and could not revive the boy.
Authorities have refused to release any details of the killing, with Duwayne's mother, Mary Joachim, 28, still facing a charge of failing to provide him with the necessities of life.
However it is understood that Duwayne was suffering lingering injuries from a separate assault a week before he was murdered. He had been absent from school for several days before his death.
Mr Pailegutu said he had been led to believe that his former partner and son had gone overseas after leaving Auckland. He only learned they had moved to Nelson when police came to his house in July to tell him Duwayne was dead.
Mr Pailegutu, a father of four with another on the way, admitted that when he first heard what Joachim had done "I wanted to go and take his life".
He wants Joachim to serve a life sentence and then he believes he will be able to follow his mother's advice to forgive.
Mr Pailegutu met Mary Joachim at Duwayne's funeral, but shunned her.
"She just tried to explain, but I didn't pay any attention to it ... it's not going to bring [Duwayne] back."
Mr Pailegutu will remember his son as being "bigger than the world".
He said Duwayne had shown signs of being a gifted young rugby league player "with his old man's talent".
