Liberty Templeman's killer revealed

Liberty Templeman's parents were at Whangarei High Court to hear the guilty verdicts delivered. Photos / Steven McNicholl, supplied

The identity of the boy who murdered Liberty Templeman can now be revealed.

He is Hermanus Theodorus Kriel, 16, of Kerikeri.

The boy, known as Theo, was just 14, when he attacked 15-year-old Liberty on November 1, 2008. His name has previously been suppressed because of his age.

Theo, who is tall at 6 foot 3 (approx 1.9m), appeared in court throughout the two-week trial, dressed in short-sleeved shirts, long pants and street shoes.

He was emotionless throughout the trial, although at times he looked away, down into the space on the floor in front of him as police interviews showed him denying accusations that he was lying to them.

His father, also called Hermanus Theodorus Kriel, an environmental health officer, and mother Anzell Kriel, a teacher, sat in court, also mostly expressionless during the trial. His mother appeared teary yesterday when her son was convicted.

The family, who moved to Auckland from South Africa when Theo was 7, then moved to Kerikeri about two years later.

His first language was Afrikaans and he knew little English until arriving here.

When he appeared in court to give evidence on Wednesday, Theo said he enjoyed mountainbiking, swimming and playing PlayStation in his spare time.

He said he didn't know Liberty very well but was part of a wider group of teenagers hanging out together the night he killed her.

He said she was "always happy" in the courtroom and had told police in a video interview played to the courtroom that she was always happy and "always singing".

But the court heard he struck here, strangled her and dragged her unconscious, leaving her face down in a stream to drown.

A day before the boy was arrested, when the family's home was cordoned off on the outskirts of Kerikeri, neighbours described Theo and his younger brother as quiet boys, from a good family.

One described them as "very nice people". Another said they were a loving family.

"They were always very family-oriented and the kids were never out in the street fooling around or anything. They were very polite boys, very polite. They're very nice... never rowdy."

Justice Raynor Asher made an order preventing the boy's photo being published but image suppression will be addressed when he appears in court for sentencing in March.