Teen gets life for 16-year-old's murder

Photo / NZ Herald

The 17-year-old who murdered Oamaru teenager William Lewis last year has been sentenced to life imprisonment.

Daniel Ethan Smith, who was 16 when he stabbed Lewis in the street last year, was sentenced today in the High Court in Timaru.

The Oamaru teenager will serve a minimum of 10 years in prison.

Smith had claimed he acted in self defence but a High Court jury found him guilty of murder after a trial in May.

The two teenagers were known to each other and an argument had developed between them over rumours that Smith had slept with a girlfriend of the victim.

Crown prosecutor Andrew McRae said during the trial Smith had deliberately taken the risk of killing Lewis when he stabbed him three times during a fight on April 1.

- Otago Daily Times