Jason Signal has conviction partially quashed for fatal Manawatū gang bashing

Codi Wilkinson, who died as a result of the bashing, was a father of three. Photo / Supplied

A man involved in a fatal gang beating has had part of his conviction quashed but must wait to find out if his more serious conviction of manslaughter will remain.

Jason David Signal was tried and found guilty last year of manslaughter, wounding with intent to cause grievous bodily harm and participation in an organised criminal group. The charges arose from a group attack in 2019 on two junior patched Mongrel Mob members.

One of the victims, Kyle Rowe, suffered a significant head wound in the attack, while Codi Wilkinson, was fatally injured.

Wilkinson was 27 when he died. It was up to a fortnight before his body was found in September 2019 in Bunnythorpe.

Signal was not a gang member, prospect or associate of the Mongrel Mob. He was instead a close friend of Jeremiah Su’a, who was the chapter president in Manawatū.

Su’a was convicted of manslaughter and wounding for his part in planning and organising the attack.

Others involved were also members of the gang. This included Su’a’s brother Mariota Su’a, Quentin Moananui and Dean Jennings.

Jennings pleaded guilty to the charges, and the other three were tried and found guilty.

Moananui was also found guilty of kidnapping two men.

There is no forensic evidence as to who participated in the physical attack.

Signal’s charge of participating in an organised criminal group has today been quashed by the Court of Appeal, which accepted the charges of manslaughter and wounding adequately reflected his culpability. The argument against his conviction for manslaughter still hangs in the balance.

The grounds for appeal on the charge of manslaughter have been adjourned by the court, pending the outcome of a Supreme Court judgment centred around another fatal gang beating.

At Signal’s appeal earlier this year, four grounds were put forward by his lawyer, Rodney Harrison, KC.

The first and second were to do with the “safety” of the guilty verdicts rendered by the jury, with one juror passing up a note to the judge with concerns about another member of the group.

After the trial ended, the juror sent a follow-up email about their concerns. They expressed that they felt pressured by, and concerned about, another juror during deliberations.

The third and fourth appeal grounds were to do with an alleged misdirection by the trial judge on the charges of participating in an organised criminal group and manslaughter.

Harrison claimed his client had suffered a miscarriage of justice and asked the court to quash the convictions. He said the jury of 11 should have been polled when the group was reaching unanimous verdicts to ensure they were all in agreement.

Crown prosecutor Rebecca Thomson submitted the court should uphold the convictions.

The decision on the charge of manslaughter has been adjourned. The remaining grounds for appeal have been dismissed.

Hazel Osborne is an Open Justice reporter for NZME and is based in Te Whanganui-a-Tara, Wellington. She joined the Open Justice team at the beginning of 2022, previously working in Whakatāne as a court and crime reporter in the Eastern Bay of Plenty.