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 didn't want the public exposure.
"I wasn't too keen to be public property for 18 months," McCarthy, now 17, told TV3's 20/20 current affairs show, to
be screened tonight.
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.
He was 14 at the time of the killing, was tried for murder but found guilty of manslaughter, and received an 18-month suspended jail sentence.
He then filed a claim in the High Court at Auckland for part of his father's $2 million estate. The claim was vehemently opposed by Patrick McCarthy's siblings, Roland and Rosaleen McCarthy.
McCarthy told 20/20 he believed 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 McCarthy and his lawyer pulled back because they realised "they were on a hiding to nowhere".
"(McCarthy) 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.
McCarthy announced he would not pursue his claim shortly after a High Court decided Roland and Rosaleen McCarthy had the right to present new evidence.
