Northland teen found guilty of murder at Ōpua in the Bay of Islands

A 15-year-old boy has been found guilty of murdering a Northlander near the Roadrunner Tavern between Opua and Paihia. Photo / Peter de Graaf

It took the jury less than four hours to find a Northland teen guilty of murdering a man following a joyride around the Mid-North.

The verdict was delivered by a jury in the High Court at Whangārei at about 4.15pm yesterday after the jurors in the nearly three-week trial retired just before lunch.

The boy was 14 when he murdered Bram Willems near the Roadrunner Tavern between Ōpua and Paihia on January 7 this year.

He maintained at trial that he acted in self-defence when Willems lunged at him with a knife after they returned from a joyride in the latter's car.

Willems' conduct, which he alleged included unwanted behaviour towards a female cousin in his car, and a threat to kill a male cousin, concerned him.

He told the court he was under the influence of alcohol and cannabis supplied to him by Willems when the stabbing took place.

The jury rejected his version of events and accepted the Crown case that he murdered Willems using a knife he kept on him.

Loud cries from a woman, presumably related to the boy, could be heard from the public gallery as the jury's verdict was delivered.

The defendant stood calm in the dock, flanked by officers from Youth Aid.

Justice Tim Brewer thanked the jury for their service before remanding the boy in custody for a callover on February 3 when a sentencing date will be set.

Willems was stabbed seven times in the chest area, and when he collapsed to the ground a further six stab wounds were inflicted.

One of the stab wounds pierced his heart and proved fatal.

In summing up the case to the jury yesterday, Justice Tim Brewer emphasised what the law said in relation to self-defence and the way people acted in a state of intoxication.

The defendant has argued during the nearly three-week trial that he had consumed alcohol and cannabis that Willems supplied during the course of the day the stabbing took place.

Alcohol could have a 'disinhibiting' effect on people who may do things when they were drunk, which they otherwise wouldn't do, the judge said.

"But the law holds people accountable for intentional acts they do, even when they are drunk. It follows that intoxication is not in itself a defence," he said.

Self-defence, Justice Brewer said, has been a central issue at trial and was something that was not well understood by the public.

He said the question for the jury was what the circumstances were for the teenager at the time he used force, the degree of threat, and what was going through his mind.

A jury in the High Court at Whangārei has found a teen guilty of murdering a Northland man. Photo / Michael Cunningham

The Crown argued that the teenager attacked and killed Willems after becoming angry over the course of that day at the latter's unwanted attraction towards a female cousin of theirs and a threat to kill another cousin who was in the car.

Defence lawyer Ron Mansfield said all his client and his cousins wanted Willems to do after they jumped out of the car near the Roadrunner Tavern was for the car owner to leave but he refused.

When confronted by a larger and older man with a knife, he said it was reasonable for the then 14-year-old to stab Willems until the threat was no longer there.

Justice Brewer said it was for the jury to decide without prejudice and sympathy whether the force used against Willems was reasonable in the circumstances.