Daniel McCarthy, convicted of manslaughter after shooting his father, says he dropped his claim for part of the dead man's $2 million fortune because he did not want the public exposure.
"I wasn't too keen to be public property for 18 months," Daniel, now aged 17, told TV3's 20/20 current affairs
show last night.
Patrick McCarthy, 57, was shot dead as he sat on his motorbike at his farm at Parakai, near Helensville, in January 1998.
Daniel said he felt "almost detached" at the time of the shooting.
Aged 14 at the time of the killing, he was tried for murder but found guilty of manslaughter. He received an 18-month suspended jail term.
He then filed a claim in the High Court at Auckland for part of his father's $2 million estate. The claim was opposed by Patrick McCarthy's siblings, Roland and Rosaleen McCarthy.
Daniel told 20/20 he believed that much of the estate would have been used up by his father's family in opposing his claim.
However, Patrick McCarthy's cousin, Terry Jew, said he believed Daniel and his lawyer pulled back because they realised "they were on a hiding to nowhere."
"[Daniel] brought this action. We were prepared to walk away after the first trial but he forced this action on the estate and naturally we have got to defend it," Mr Jew said.
Daniel said he would not pursue his claim shortly after the High Court decided that Roland and Rosaleen McCarthy had the right to present new evidence.
Renouncing the case meant Daniel was not open to an O. J. Simpson-style possibility of being found liable, in a civil case, for intentional killing. His aunt and uncle had hoped to prove this to stop his benefiting from the estate.
Daniel's decision to drop the civil case meant the estate could be distributed according to Patrick McCarthy's original wishes.
His last will, dated January 14, 1982, left most of the estate to his brother and sister.
At his trial, Daniel said he had been trying to scare his father to prevent another beating.
Daniel told 20/20 the shooting had been accidental and that he fired the gun subconsciously.
"I had my finger on the trigger and had obviously been pulling it or applying pressure. Then the gun went off and he flew off the bike."
He said it had been like a dream and he felt "almost detached."
"I went round to feel his pulse and to see if he was alive ... He wasn't."
- NZPA
Daniel McCarthy, convicted of manslaughter after shooting his father, says he dropped his claim for part of the dead man's $2 million fortune because he did not want the public exposure.
"I wasn't too keen to be public property for 18 months," Daniel, now aged 17, told TV3's 20/20 current affairs
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