Man jailed for manslaughter

File photo / Greg Bowker

A Taranaki man who assaulted a man who later died was today jailed for two years and four months.

Stephen Needham, 23, of Straford, was sentenced in the High Court in Wellington for the manslaughter of Michael Charles Drew.

Mr Drew, 52, was initially taken to Wellington Hospital in a serious condition following the assault in Wellington's Mount Cook, on September 11 this year.

He never regained consciousness and died four days later.

Needham was originally charged with assault which was upgraded to manslaughter after Mr Drew's death.

- NZPA