A Northland man has been found guilty of the manslaughter of his stepfather, who died three days after a row during a drinking session.
Patrick Tepana, 44, was accused of the manslaughter of Christopher Edwards, 61, at Te Kopuru early last year.
In the High Court at Whangarei this week,
the Crown alleged Tepana had punched Mr Edwards three or five times during a drinking session because he thought his stepfather had "stirred" Tepana's partner up.
The jury heard Tepana say family members started abusing him when he arrived at their Te Kopuru home from Auckland on January 10, 2012, accused him of stealing a pair of sunglasses and Mr Edwards had claimed he stole his mag wheels.
Tepana said Mr Edwards grabbed him and tried to choke him, but he freed himself and in the process may have hit him. Tepana said he went to bed about 7pm that day. The next morning, someone told him that he had given Mr Edwards a black eye.
