Murder victim's mother: 'Bullies took my son'

Izak Millanta was found unconscious in a carpark near Coastlands on the Kapiti Coast. Photo / Supplied

A Wellington man has been sentenced to six years in prison over the fatal bashing of a Kapiti Coast teenager.

Manawanui Stewart, 26, pleaded guilty to manslaughter after 17-year-old Izak Millanta was found unconscious in a carpark near the Coastlands shopping area last August.

The teenager died in Wellington Hospital the following day.

Stewart, from the the Porirua suburb of Titahi Bay, was sentenced to six years in prison when he appeared before Justice Ronald Young in the High Court at Wellington today.

There were angry, emotional outbursts from the public gallery as Stewart was sentenced.

Speaking outside court, Mr Millanta's mother Christine Wikaira said she was surprised by the length of the sentence, which was higher than she was told to expect.

But the sentence was no comfort.

"It's a travesty of justice. We are here today in a place that gives justice and the truth, and neither of those things were present today."

Ms Wikaira said her son's killer was a bully.

"Bullies took my son. My son stood up to bullies continuously - they took his life at the end of the day."

She was critical of the way victims were treated by the justice system.

"It's time something changed."