Wellington nightlife killing: Siale Siale admits the manslaughter of Luke Smith

A man who threw a fatal punch at a stranger on a night out in central Wellington also hurled insults and kicked him as he lay unconscious on the road, it can now be revealed.

This morning in a packed courtroom at the High Court at href="https://www.nzherald.co.nz/news/wellington/" target="_self">Wellington, Siale Siale pleaded guilty to the manslaughter of Luke Smith, 21, in October.

Smith had only lived in Wellington for eight months before his death, emigrating from South Africa with his parents in February.

According to the summary of facts, Siale was sitting outside Reading Cinema building on Courtenay Place about 3.15am.

Luke Smith, 21, died in hospital on October 7, 2024 after being critically assaulted on Wellington's Courtenay Place in the early hours of October 6, 2024.

About the same time, Smith and a friend were walking to a bar, where they’d arranged to meet a friend, who was going to drive them home.

Smith was also drinking that night.

While passing Siale, Smith began talking to two women sitting beside Siale.

The 30-year-old grabbed Smith by his shirt and asked him what he was looking at.

Smith stopped and spoke to Siale, before his friend grabbed his arm to try to drag him away.

Siale Siale, standing in the dock at the Wellington District Court. Photo: RNZ / Samuel Rillstone

According to the summary, Smith was about to move away when Siale said,

“Do you want to tell me what the f*** you said.”

Smith responded: “I’m going to make you look like a pussy”.

Without warning, Siale punched Smith with his left hand, knocking him unconscious.

Smith fell backwards, his head hitting the road.

Siale then said to Smith’s friend: “Do you want some bro,” before taking out his mobile phone and beginning to film.

The summary said Siale then verbally taunted Smith, displaying his middle finger towards him and kicking him once in the upper thigh or groin area while Smith lay unconscious on the road, saying “f*** you, motherf*****”.

Despite being told by Smith’s friend to stop, Siale continued to taunt Smith.

As Siale left the scene, Smith’s friend and passersby began doing CPR and called emergency services.

Later Siale returned to Courtenay Place where Smith’s friend pointed him out to police.

Smith was taken to Wellington Hospital where he was placed in intensive care, although it was clear from his injuries, which included a skull fracture, swelling to his brain and a haemorrhage, that he was unlikely to survive.

The summary said the hit to the back of Smith’s head caused his brain to swell, while the fracture caused blood to flow into his brain.

“The scale of the swelling triggered the brain to its process of dying,” it said.

Smith died on October 7 at the hospital, after being taken off life support.

A post-mortem confirmed he died from blunt force trauma.

In explanation, Siale told police he was arguing with Smith, who wanted to fight him, and he’d thrown the first punch.

According to the summary, Siale trained for four weeks at a boxing gym in December 2022.

The boxing trainer made it clear to his students that their boxing skills should never be taken outside of the ring, as it’s likely “that anybody they came up against is going to come out second best”, the summary said.

Justice Karen Grau ordered a pre-sentence report and made a referral to restorative justice. She granted Siale bail ahead of his sentencing in February next year.

Catherine Hutton is an Open Justice reporter, based in Wellington. She has worked as a journalist for 20 years, including at the Waikato Times and RNZ. Most recently she was working as a media adviser at the Ministry of Justice.