Tearful apology to hunter's widow after Easter shooting

By JO-MARIE BROWN

The man who mistook a Taupo hunter for a sika deer and shot him in the head has apologised to the hunter's widow.

A tearful Christopher Martin Davies, one of two hunters who appeared in the Taupo District Court and admitted carelessly using a firearm causing death, afterwards privately met Mark Leathwick's wife, Linda.

Police said Davies, 24, had been anxious to meet Mrs Leathwick since he accidentally shot her 47-year-old husband in the Kaimanawa Ranges while he was deer stalking on Easter Sunday.

After Davies raised the alarm, a search and rescue team tramped through the night to find Mr Leathwick's sons, aged 13 and 10, and tell them why their father had not returned to their campsite.

Davies and Mrs Leathwick spoke at length at the Taupo police station but neither wished to comment publicly about what was said.

In court, Judge Chris McGuire heard that the night before the shooting, Davies and his hunting companion had discussed at their campsite the deaths of two other deer hunters in the central North Island and the need to take extra care.

The next day Davies was following the sound of a sika deer roaring when he saw a movement 18m ahead of him. Through his naked eye and the scope of his rifle, Davies saw a tawny-coloured object which he believed was a deer's hindquarters.

He fired a single shot but the Hamilton engineer's bullet went straight through the "blaze orange" cap that Mr Leathwick had been specifically wearing to avoid being mistaken for a deer.

Nine days earlier, Hamish Harland was shot dead while hunting near Turangi despite also wearing "blaze orange" across the top half of his bush jacket for protection.

Mr Harland's long-time family friend and hunting companion, David Webster Alker, of Owhango, admitted in court to having accidentally shot the National Park man.

Judge Chris McGuire was told Alker, who has been hunting for over 30 years, was devastated by his friend's death.

The 46 year-old and Mr Harland had split up in the hopes of cornering a particular stag when Alker heard a faint shuffle and saw a pepperwood tree shimmy 25m ahead of him.

Having seen what he thought was a deer's eye and ear, he fired his rifle.

Having heard their guilty pleas, Judge McGuire warned both Davies and Alker that they could possibly be imprisoned when sentenced on May 20.

The maximum penalty for careless use of a firearm causing death is three years imprisonment and/or a $4000 fine.